Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Buys 11,330 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,330 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $10,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,196,484,000 after acquiring an additional 243,177 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $791,317,000. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 5,535,972 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $354,247,000 after acquiring an additional 431,419 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $456,737,000 after purchasing an additional 402,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $272.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.75. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $309.90. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.83.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup upped their target price on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Western Digital from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.58.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,137,796.14. This trade represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Western Digital Company 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.