Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services increased its Western Digital position by 604.1% in the second quarter, holding 17,610 shares worth approximately $11.25 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of WDC.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56, beating estimates of $3.31, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. Management issued Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15, supported by AI-driven storage demand and stronger pricing.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average $534.56 price target, but insider selling and the stock’s elevated valuation remain risks after its sharp advance.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 604.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,610 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 15,109 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $11,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $479,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.7% in the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,941 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,296,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $363,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.8% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,898 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $10,155,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Finally, Saudi Central Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 91.9% in the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 24,223 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $15,472,000 after purchasing an additional 11,603 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: A broad rally in memory stocks lifted Western Digital alongside SK Hynix and Seagate. Investors appear to be responding to stronger memory pricing, supply tightness and continued demand from artificial-intelligence data centers. SK Hynix Surges 7% as Memory Bid Widens Beyond NAND; Seagate Rallies 5%
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s investment case is supported by AI-driven storage growth, higher hard-disk-drive pricing and expanding margins. Recent earnings also showed revenue growth and earnings above consensus, while management’s next-quarter guidance points to continued momentum. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Positive Sentiment: China’s progress in memory manufacturing is not viewed as an immediate threat because Western Digital and peers reportedly have capacity committed under multiyear contracts. That could help protect near-term pricing and margins. Why China’s Memory Chip Breakthrough Won't Crash the Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with reported price targets above the current trading level, but the stock’s sharp six-month advance has made expectations demanding. Investors are watching whether future earnings estimates can justify the valuation. WDC Stock's Big Rally: Buy, Sell, or Hold After a 70% 6-Month Surge?
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider transactions have consisted of sales rather than purchases, including a director’s sale of roughly $2.5 million in shares. Insider selling and profit-taking previously pressured WDC, while the stock’s elevated valuation leaves it vulnerable if storage-sector momentum fades. Western Digital Falls as Sector Weakness and Insider Selling Weigh on Shares

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $467.46 on Monday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $506.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $446.87. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $91.43 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $161.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities 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 $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of Western Digital 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 transaction, the insider directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% 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. Insiders sold a total of 23,210 shares of company stock valued at $10,440,960 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fox Advisors cut 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 target price on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.

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.

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