Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 3,597 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,864 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 3,597 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in Western Digital were worth $12,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $788,729,000. Fred Alger Management LLC grew 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 valued at $409,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,225 shares during the last quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake 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 valued at $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $221,800,000. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Western Digital by 267.6% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,691,659 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $291,422,000 after buying an additional 1,231,477 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Fox Advisors downgraded shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Negative Sentiment: WDC slid in sympathy with the memory-chip sector after SK Hynix’s steep decline reignited concerns about valuations and near-term earnings in AI-related memory stocks. Western Digital Stock Drops: Why an Aggressive SK Hynix Reversal Is Shaking Up the Chip Sector
• Negative Sentiment: The broader group also weakened after reports that SK Hynix’s weak profit forecast and post-IPO reversal triggered selling across chip and storage names, including Western Digital. Micron, SanDisk, Western Digital Fall 6% as SK Hynix's Weak Outlook Rattles Memory Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Another report said WDC was down in pre-market trading as investors dumped memory-chip stocks amid sector-wide weakness and rising geopolitical tension. Why Is Western Digital Stock (WDC) Falling in Pre-Market Today, 7/13/26?
• Negative Sentiment: Market commentary also noted that global chip stocks were under pressure as investors reconsidered the sustainability of aggressive AI spending and related valuations. Intel, AMD, Sandisk, and More Stocks That Explain Today’s Market
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital also announced it will report fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 results on August 5, which keeps investor attention focused on upcoming earnings but does not by itself change the near-term trading setup. WD to Announce Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results on August 5, 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Despite the selloff, some analysts remain constructive, citing strong demand and tight HDD supply as reasons Western Digital could still have upside if fundamentals hold. Why Analysts Are Betting Western Digital Stock Can Gain Another 30% from Here

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $555.55 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $65.24 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $558.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $376.88. The company has a market cap of $191.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.17 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.6 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.58%.

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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