Cetera Investment Advisers Has $30.41 Million Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its Western Digital stake by 18.9% in the first quarter, reaching 112,415 shares valued at approximately $30.41 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.51% of WDC’s outstanding stock.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 beating estimates of $2.39 and revenue rising 45.5% year over year to $3.34 billion. Investor sentiment is also being supported by AI-related storage demand and tight memory supply.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $520.32, while individual targets have risen as high as $732. Insiders, however, sold 28,959 shares worth $12.63 million over the past 90 days.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 18.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,861 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Western Digital were worth $30,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,270,000. WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $793,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 33.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $193,303,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares during the period. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,889,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 145.8% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,025,000 after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total transaction of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 116,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at $63,640,420.80. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,959 shares of company stock worth $12,631,666. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital News Summary

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.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $519.80 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $66.51 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The business's 50-day moving average price is $564.90 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $398.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $560.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

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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