Waddell & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 91.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,695 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares during the quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 55.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Western Digital Trading Down 1.7%
NASDAQ:WDC opened at $517.72 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $54.60 and a twelve month high of $602.54. The company has a market cap of $178.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $431.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $300.90.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 3.58%.
More Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Citi reportedly remains bullish on Western Digital, reinforcing that analysts still see upside in the stock despite the pullback.
- Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary continues to highlight strong momentum in memory and AI-related storage demand, which has helped support Western Digital’s sharp run over the past several months. Memory Stocks Sandisk (SNDK), Seagate (STX), and Western Digital (WDC) Surge on AI-Driven Demand Forecast
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is attracting elevated investor attention and social-media chatter, suggesting the stock remains a high-conviction name in the semiconductor space.
- Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, so there is no clear evidence that bearish positioning is driving today’s move.
- Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage shares were broadly weaker intraday, with Western Digital falling alongside Micron as the sector gave back gains. Micron Sinks 6%, Western Digital Falls 5% but SanDisk Holds Steady
- Negative Sentiment: A reported macro shock in the Middle East weakened the stable backdrop that had been supporting the semiconductor rally, adding pressure across chip stocks. Skyworks Solutions, Western Digital, and Teradyne Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have commented on WDC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $433.29.
Insider Transactions at Western Digital
In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
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.
Further Reading
- Five stocks we like better than Western Digital
- Optical Cable Corporation: Strong Earnings, But Hurdles Remain
- The Bank of Mom and Dad Is Booming—3 Stocks to Watch
- Corning Is Paving AI’s Future With Glass
- Why’s Amazon Suddenly Lagging the S&P 500, and Is It a Warning?
Receive News & Ratings for Western Digital Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Western Digital and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
