Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Boosted by Aberdeen Group plc

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,260 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,343 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned about 0.07% of Western Digital worth $29,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $225,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 12.3% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,281,000 after acquiring an additional 5,731 shares during the period. LBP AM SA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $641,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 9.6% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 30,434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,938,000 after purchasing an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total value of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 70,522 shares of company stock worth $17,661,708 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $284.11 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $307.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $221.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.08.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.02%.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI customers have bought essentially all WD hard-drive capacity for 2026, creating immediate revenue visibility, stronger utilization and pricing leverage for HDDs. This is the primary driver behind the stock strength. AI Demand Clears Out Western Digital’s Hard Drive Supply for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction: analysts and market outlets report the “sold out” message has already pushed the stock higher as investors price in stronger FY26 revenue and margin tailwinds from AI hyperscalers. Western Digital Stock Jumps on Huge AI Hard Drive Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple tech outlets note the shortage extends across HDD and enterprise SSD supply, implying pricing power and higher ASPs for storage products. That supports revenue/margin upside. Thanks to AI, WD and Seagate SSDs are about to get much more expensive
• Positive Sentiment: Sell‑side sentiment is warming — Cantor Fitzgerald and Goldman Sachs raised WDC price targets, reinforcing the bullish thesis and supporting further multiple expansion. Cantor Fitzgerald and Goldman Sachs lift Western Digital (WDC) price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Company actions: WDC expanded buybacks (announced previously), supporting shareholder returns and signaling confidence in free cash flow as AI demand lifts sales. That is a constructive catalyst for the stock. Is Western Digital’s $4B Buyback Plan a Smart Move or a Risk?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks added WDC to their Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth list, reflecting momentum but not changing fundamentals by itself. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for February 17th
• Neutral Sentiment: WDC plans to sell some Sandisk shares to bolster its balance sheet and reduce debt; that will raise cash and lower leverage but reduces its stake in an asset — a balance-sheet move investors should watch for execution and timing. Sandisk’s stock falls as Western Digital plans to sell shares. What investors need to know.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate governance/relations: WDC CFO Kris Sennesael joined the board of MaxLinear — a non-core development that may broaden industry relationships but has limited direct impact on WDC’s financials. MaxLinear Adds Western Digital CFO Kris Sennesael to Board
• Negative Sentiment: Risks: analysts and some commentaries warn buybacks and heavier capital returns come as WDC remains cyclical and indebted; if AI demand cools, capacity-led cycles could reverse margins quickly. Investors should weigh buyback upside against cyclicality and leverage risk. Is Western Digital’s $4B Buyback Plan a Smart Move or a Risk?

Western Digital Profile

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.