Donoghue Forlines LLC Invests $2.74 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Donoghue Forlines LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 22,851 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,743,000. Western Digital comprises approximately 0.8% of Donoghue Forlines LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,305,289 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $593,045,000 after acquiring an additional 186,030 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 8.5% in the second quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $354,247,000 after purchasing an additional 431,419 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 17.1% during the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,735,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $239,022,000 after purchasing an additional 545,500 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $220,680,000. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $221.51 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $124.44. The company has a market capitalization of $75.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.24, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $230.48.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 30.89%. Western Digital’s revenue was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.730-2.030 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $272,272.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,090. The trade was a 33.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 26,369 shares of company stock valued at $4,013,785 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark lifted their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.05.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.