J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 3,775 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,100,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $409,049,000 after buying an additional 3,339,225 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its position in Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $221,800,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Western Digital by 267.6% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,691,659 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $291,422,000 after buying an additional 1,231,477 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Western Digital Price Performance
Shares of WDC opened at $511.72 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $422.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.71. The company has a market capitalization of $176.38 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.60 and a 52-week high of $602.54.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 3.58%.
Western Digital News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from strong investor enthusiasm around AI-driven storage demand, with recent articles highlighting new AI-focused storage technologies, improved analyst valuation estimates, and expectations for firmer HDD and memory pricing. Why Western Digital (WDC) Is Up 12.0% After Unveiling New AI‑Focused Storage Technologies
- Positive Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly raised its price target on Western Digital by 37%, helping push the stock to fresh highs as investors positioned ahead of the company’s Computex-related AI announcements. Western Digital (WDC) Hits All-Time High as Citi Hikes PT by 37%
- Positive Sentiment: The company has also been cleaning up its balance sheet and making more AI-related moves, which some investors view as supporting additional upside. Western Digital Could Be Halfway Through Retiring 2028 Convertible Debt. What It Means for the Stock.
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s recent earnings were strong, with the company beating estimates and issuing upbeat guidance, but the stock still saw a short-term dip as some traders appeared to take profits after a big run. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Dips 3% Despite Strong Earnings—Should Investors Buy the Pullback?
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes that the broader market and semiconductor stocks have been choppy, with Broadcom’s cautious AI outlook pressuring memory names like Western Digital even after the company’s strong news flow. MU, SNDK, WDC: Memory Stocks Dip As Broadcom’s Forecast Dampens AI Sentiment, Retail Turns Buyer
- Negative Sentiment: One near-term headwind is profit-taking after Western Digital’s rapid run-up to all-time highs, which has led to some price weakness despite the longer-term bullish narrative. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts
Insider Activity at Western Digital
In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total transaction of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $488.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $424.33.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WDC
Western Digital Company 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.
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