Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Has $505,000 Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ameritas Advisory Services increased its Western Digital stake by 2,832% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holding to 2,932 shares worth about $505,000.
• Western Digital continues to attract heavy institutional interest, with 92.51% of shares owned by institutions and hedge funds, while several analysts have recently raised price targets and maintained bullish ratings.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, signaling improved financial performance and capital returns.

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 2,832.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,932 shares of the data storage provider's stock after buying an additional 2,832 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $505,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $791,317,000. Fred Alger Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,800,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 175.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $78,347,000 after acquiring an additional 784,645 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,679 shares of company stock worth $18,049,314. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Western Digital from $405.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on 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 issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.83.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital was named to the 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America, highlighting its ESG and sustainable AI infrastructure leadership. The company also said the index inclusion and improved operating profile reflect its growing role in AI data storage demand. WD Named to 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best‑in‑Class Index North America, Recognizing Leadership in Sustainable AI Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to point to Western Digital’s AI storage exposure, with articles citing surging earnings, rising hyperscaler demand, and stronger shareholder returns after the SanDisk spinoff as reasons the stock has been trending higher. WDC's Whopping 893% Run in a Year: Buy the Stock Amid AI Storage Boom?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a 20% dividend increase, which investors may view as a sign of confidence in cash flow and capital returns alongside record AI-related demand for its storage and data platforms. Western Digital Links Higher Dividend And ESG Index Win To AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is also showing up on “trending stock” lists, suggesting elevated investor interest, but these mentions do not add new fundamental information by themselves. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate note said Western Digital’s price target was raised, which can support sentiment but is still secondary to the bigger AI-storage and capital-return story. Western Digital (WDC) price target increased by 31.02% to 483.72
• Negative Sentiment: No major company-specific negative catalyst emerged in the latest headlines, though some coverage compares Western Digital with peers such as Micron and Seagate, which keeps valuation and competition in focus. Why I'd Rather Own Micron Stock Than Sandisk

Western Digital Trading Down 1.4%

WDC stock opened at $482.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 2.10. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $49.00 and a 12 month high of $525.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $352.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $256.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.99%.

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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