Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Acquired by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 4.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 75,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,201 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $34,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 65 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna set a $405.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $289.20 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $132.43 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $419.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Western Digital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital shares climbed as investors bought back into the stock following the recent decline; peer storage names also rallied, suggesting a sector-wide rebound contributed. Western Digital climbs amid rebound from recent selloff
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Western Digital’s exposure to AI-driven storage demand, including cloud growth and adoption of higher-capacity hard drives, with strong growth prospects cited for fiscal 2027. This supports the longer-term bull case, though it is not a new company announcement. Western Digital and the AI storage boom
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report says short interest was zero shares as of November 10, despite describing it as a significant increase. The figures appear inconsistent and do not provide clear evidence of short-covering as a catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firm Levi & Korsinsky announced an investigation into possible fiduciary-duty breaches by certain Western Digital officers and directors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but may add a legal and reputational overhang. Shareholder investigation announcement

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.