Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Purchases Shares of 9,150 Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA opened a new position in Western Digital, buying 9,150 shares in the first quarter worth about $2.48 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other large investors controlling about 92.51% of the stock, while several firms recently added to their WDC stakes.
• Analysts are broadly positive on Western Digital, with the stock carrying an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $493.52, even as some recent insider selling was disclosed.

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,150 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,475,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $500.00 to $685.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $493.52.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks still lists Western Digital as a top momentum stock for Q3 2026, pointing to continued investor interest in the memory chip theme and potential upside if the sector rebound continues.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat noted that the memory rally may still be intact despite the broader semiconductor sell-off, which could support Western Digital if demand for memory chips remains strong.
• Positive Sentiment: A review of WD Red Plus 4TB highlighted the product as a reliable NAS hard drive, reinforcing Western Digital’s reputation in storage hardware.
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital was mentioned alongside other decliners as semiconductor stocks fell on fears that AI-driven chip demand may be cooling, suggesting the stock is being dragged by sector sentiment more than a fresh company-specific catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst-focused articles cited Western Digital’s bullish Wall Street view and strong earnings surprise history, but they did not introduce new information likely to move the stock immediately.
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail promotion news from Flipkart’s GOAT Sale included WD-branded storage devices, which is supportive for brand visibility but likely not material to the stock today.
• Negative Sentiment: The steep decline in Western Digital shares followed a broader semiconductor pullback, with investors apparently rotating out of high-flying AI and chip names.
• Negative Sentiment: Articles about Sandisk’s huge post-spin-off rally and the possibility of a stock split may remind investors of competition and relative performance within the storage space, but they mainly add narrative pressure rather than direct upside for WDC.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $539.00 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $799.87. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $539.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $359.19. The stock has a market cap of $185.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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 business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 3.58%.

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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