44 Wealth Management LLC Sells 3,040 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• 44 Wealth Management LLC cut its Western Digital stake by 32.6% in the first quarter, selling 3,040 shares and leaving it with 6,288 shares valued at about $1.7 million.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 beating estimates and revenue of $3.34 billion topping forecasts; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 from $0.12.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive, with the stock carrying a Moderate Buy rating overall and an average price target of about $520.32, though opinions vary widely across firms.

44 Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,288 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,040 shares during the quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van Diest Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $216,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lifted its stake in Western Digital by 5.8% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 36,118 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $9,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,989 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 27.5% in the first quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 5,615 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in Western Digital by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 14,835 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $4,013,000 after acquiring an additional 3,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $310,018,000 after acquiring an additional 153,600 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $519.80 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $66.51 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 2.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $564.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $397.06.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at $63,640,420.80. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 28,959 shares of company stock valued at $12,631,666 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory-chip peers such as Micron, Sandisk, and SK Hynix were reported surging on continued enthusiasm for AI infrastructure spending and tight memory supply, which can lift sentiment for Western Digital as well. Article: Why Micron, Sandisk, and SK Hynix Are Surging—And How to Play It
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Western Digital’s AI storage exposure and relatively stronger financial footing versus peers like Super Micro, reinforcing the stock’s appeal as an AI hardware play. Article: WDC vs. SMCI: Which AI Hardware Stock is the Smarter Investment Now?
• Positive Sentiment: A valuation piece argued that Western Digital still looks attractive on earnings and especially cheap on a cash-flow basis, suggesting the recent rally may have room to continue if AI demand remains strong. Article: Western Digital (WDC) Stock Looks Reasonable On Earnings While Cash Flow Looks Cheap
• Neutral Sentiment: One report said Western Digital reentered merger-focused discussion, but it did not provide a concrete transaction update, so the near-term stock impact is unclear. Article: Western Digital (WDC) Reenters Merger Focus, Where Does Fair Value Sit?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful short position reported, which does not appear to be a major driver of the stock today.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, July 13th. Fox Advisors cut Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

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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