ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 581.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 618,061 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 527,359 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $106,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Avion Wealth increased its holdings in Western Digital by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 207.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Western Digital Stock Down 0.6%
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company’s revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.99%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $500.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Western Digital from $335.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.83.
View Our Latest Analysis on Western Digital
Trending Headlines about Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital announced industry-first post-quantum cryptography hard drives, reinforcing its pitch that it can win more AI data-center business by offering “quantum-safe” storage security for hyperscalers. WD Advances Next-Generation Trusted Infrastructure with Industry’s First Post-Quantum Cryptography Hard Drives to Help Secure the Future of AI Data
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports highlighted that AI infrastructure is driving a storage supercycle, with stronger pricing power for enterprise SSDs and hard drives; that backdrop is favorable for Western Digital’s revenue and margins. Seagate and Western Digital: AI Storage Demand Is Now Showing Up in Pricing Power
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary suggests Western Digital’s fair value is being revised higher on stronger earnings expectations tied to AI storage demand, and one note cited a price target around $504, supporting the stock’s long-term bull case. Why The Western Digital (WDC) Story Is Shifting On New Earnings And AI Storage Expectations
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was added to the 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America, a small but constructive inclusion that can improve visibility with institutional investors. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Included in 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America
- Neutral Sentiment: Shares were little changed in the session after a sharp sector-wide selloff, as memory stocks including Micron and SanDisk bounced while Western Digital lagged, suggesting WDC is being pulled around by broader group trading rather than company-specific news. Micron Is Up 6% Today: Is It Outperforming Other Memory Stocks Like SanDisk and Western Digital?
- Negative Sentiment: Near-term sentiment was pressured by reports of AI supply-chain and capacity-crunch fears across memory stocks, which sparked a premarket selloff in Western Digital and peers. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital Sink On Capacity Crunch Fears
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.
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