Ancora Advisors LLC Has $558,000 Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 45,933.3% during the first quarter, holding 13,810 shares valued at $558,000.
• Insider sales totaled 49,975 shares in the last three months, with two key executives selling shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership stake.
• Western Digital recently announced a $2.00 billion share buyback plan and a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, signaling the board's confidence in the company's stock value.

Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 45,933.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,810 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,780 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 242.2% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $1.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,984,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,123,815. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $75.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.87. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $97.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock worth $3,935,806. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.89.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.