Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock: Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Cuts Stake

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. lowered its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,195 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 41,472 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $50,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $627,606,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna set a $405.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.

Western Digital Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $295.65 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $391.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.40. The stock has a market cap of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.27. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $132.43 and a 12-month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The business’s revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.33%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.