Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by Brevan Howard Capital Management LP

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 38.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,773 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 40,890 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 294.8% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,770 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 2,815 shares during the period. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. The trade was a 7.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of WDC opened at $272.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $255.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.13. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $309.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. 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 currently 5.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, New Street Research set a $250.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.