49,297 Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 5.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 805,827 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 49,297 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $366,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $627,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 7.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $366.11 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $132.43 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $421.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $416.75. The company has a market cap of $137.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.33%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $306,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at $41,392,640. This represents 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. Insiders have sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WDC shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price target on Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Trending Headlines about 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

About Western Digital

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.