Czech National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,154 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $15,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $6,281,000 after purchasing an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,244,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth $636,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 399.8% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,900,000 after buying an additional 25,987 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 7.7%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $273.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $92.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $271.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.82. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $319.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The company 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 prior year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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: Long-term customer contracts extend visibility into AI/hyperscale demand and improve revenue predictability, supporting WDC’s growth narrative. Western Digital’s Long Contracts Recast AI Storage Growth And Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces highlight WDC’s AI/cloud exposure and superior cash returns versus peers (NetApp), reinforcing a buy case that could limit downside in a pullback. Western Digital Riding on AI & Cloud Boom to Power Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Technical flow: a “power inflow” signal near $278 helped an intraday rebound (about +3%), showing short-term buying interest that can cushion volatility. Western Digital Shares Rebound, Climb 3% After Key Trading Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Broker/industry notes that memory prices could spike (benefiting suppliers), but firm-specific exposure and product mix will determine how much WDC captures any rally. Memory Prices Could Spike More Than 100%: Buy Micron Stock Here
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative coverage (Micron vs. Western Digital) underscores different exposure (memory vs. high-capacity drives); useful context but not an immediate catalyst for WDC alone. Micron (MU) vs Western Digital (WDC): Which AI Infrastructure Stock Offers Better Value?
• Negative Sentiment: Google’s TurboQuant — an algorithm that can materially cut AI memory requirements — prompted investor re‑assessment of long‑run hardware demand, putting pressure on memory/storage names including WDC. Google TurboQuant Puts Western Digital AI Storage Growth In Focus
• Negative Sentiment: Sector reaction: memory chip stocks fell sharply after TurboQuant news, reflecting short-term risk that AI efficiency gains could reduce near‑term demand forecasts for suppliers. Memory Chip Stocks Drop 6% as Google Unveils AI Efficiency Algorithm

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total value of $2,174,815.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,347,148.32. This represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.58.

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.