13,385 Shares in Western Digital Corporation $WDC Bought by United Capital Financial Advisors LLC

Key Points

• United Capital Financial Advisors purchased 13,385 Western Digital shares valued at approximately $8.55 million, while institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with revenue up 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion and EPS of $3.56, exceeding estimates. The company guided to next-quarter EPS of $3.85–$4.15, supported by demand from AI infrastructure and cloud storage.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56, although some firms recently downgraded the stock. Insiders sold shares through pre-arranged trading plans, including 20,000 shares sold by CEO Irving Tan.

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 13,385 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,549,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Western Digital by 71.4% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $147,275,000 after acquiring an additional 96,078 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Western Digital by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $193,303,000 after purchasing an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $20,889,000. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the period. Finally, Win Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,233,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s AI- and cloud-storage growth thesis remains intact. Industry momentum from AI infrastructure, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and automotive applications is supporting expectations for continued demand. 3 Storage Devices Stocks to Buy as the Industry Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A recent exchange of approximately $191 million of 3% convertible notes due 2028 is viewed as constructive liability management because it can reduce debt, although issuing shares may create some dilution. What’s Going on With Western Digital Stock on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital recently reported revenue growth of 44% year over year to $3.75 billion and earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates. Its next-quarter earnings guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 per share also supports the bullish fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and analyst indicators remain favorable: a recent hammer chart pattern suggested potential support, while upward earnings-estimate revisions and a bullish Wall Street consensus point to possible longer-term recovery. Western Digital May Find a Bottom Soon

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% 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. Insiders sold 26,117 shares of company stock valued at $12,053,353 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Fox Advisors lowered shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $462.00 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $532.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.49. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $159.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

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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