Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 805,827 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 49,297 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Western Digital worth $366,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $366.11 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $132.43 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $421.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.75.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.1750 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WDC. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush lifted their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 16th. Argus cut their price objective on Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 and free cash flow of $1.38 billion, exceeding expectations. Management also forecast approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue and $5.80 in non-GAAP EPS, signaling continued strength in AI-related data-center storage demand. Western Digital slides as strong results fail to calm spending and sector worries
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain well above the current trading level, with Quiver Quantitative citing a six-month median target of $650. Several analysts view Western Digital as a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion and rising demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives. Western Digital selloff and analyst targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI data-center spending. However, comparisons favor Seagate on some metrics, including return on equity, valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially affecting investor preference within the storage group. Seagate versus Western Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending and lofty storage-sector valuations can remain sustainable. A sharp decline in Sandisk and weakness across memory and semiconductor stocks amplified pressure on WDC, even after Sandisk delivered strong results and raised guidance. Memory-sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending of $227 million, continued buybacks and capacity and technology-transition needs have raised concerns about cash demands and future returns. Profit-taking after WDC’s substantial earlier advance may also be contributing to the decline. Quiver also reports 110 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, an additional sentiment headwind. Western Digital spending and insider activity

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.