L & S Advisors Inc Trims Holdings in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• L & S Advisors Inc cut its Western Digital stake by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 59,411 shares and ending with 56,934 shares worth about $9.8 million.
• Western Digital reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 and revenue of $3.34 billion, both above analyst expectations. Revenue rose 45.5% year over year, and the company issued upbeat Q4 2026 guidance.
• The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, while analysts remain generally constructive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 51.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,934 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 59,411 shares during the period. Western Digital comprises about 0.9% of L & S Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $266,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 77.6% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 86,911 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $14,972,000 after acquiring an additional 37,969 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $300,000. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $337,000. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $482.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $352.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.77. The company has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 2.10. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.00 and a 1 year high of $525.15.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The company's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 2.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Western Digital News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $405.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.83.

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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