Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 8,882 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 139,532 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,882 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $24,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $221,800,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in Western Digital by 267.6% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,691,659 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $291,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,477 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.3%

NASDAQ WDC opened at $490.09 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $436.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.37. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.60 and a 12-month high of $602.54. The firm has a market cap of $168.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.26 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 3.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WDC. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Western Digital from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup increased their target price on Western Digital from $500.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $433.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,640,420.80. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reiterated a bullish view on Western Digital, saying AI-driven storage demand continues to show no signs of slowing, which supports the long-term revenue outlook for the company. Mizuho doubles down on WDC stock as AI storage demand shows no signs of slowing down
• Positive Sentiment: Citi also remained bullish on Western Digital, suggesting analysts still see upside potential despite the stock’s recent volatility. Citi Remains Bullish on Western Digital Corporation (WDC) – Here’s Why
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital has been receiving elevated investor attention, with multiple articles noting that WDC is a trending stock and worth watching, but these pieces do not point to a specific new catalyst. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Neutral Sentiment: One market commentary said WDC could deserve attention, reflecting continued interest in the stock rather than a clear operational update. Here's Why We Think Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Might Deserve Your Attention Today
• Negative Sentiment: WDC fell more sharply than the broader market in the latest session, as memory and storage names came under pressure alongside peers such as Micron, indicating sector-wide risk-off sentiment was a key driver of the decline. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Broader semiconductor and memory stocks sold off after geopolitical headlines raised macro uncertainty, and Western Digital was caught up in that move. Skyworks Solutions, Western Digital, and Teradyne Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know

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.