Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 2,499 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Oppenheimer & Co. trimmed its stake in Western Digital by 27.6% in Q4, selling 2,499 shares and leaving 6,570 shares valued at about $1.132 million.
• Insider selling has accelerated recently: CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares at an average $411.84 and insiders have sold 60,459 shares worth roughly $19.88 million in the past 90 days (some trades were under a 10b5‑1 plan).
• Western Digital reported a strong quarter (EPS $2.72 vs. $2.39 expected; revenue $3.34B, +45.5%), raised guidance, and saw multiple analysts boost price targets toward ~$500, leaving a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target of $395.83.

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 27.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,570 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $791,317,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,923.9% in 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 buying an additional 3,339,225 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% in 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 buying an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth $221,800,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 175.4% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $78,347,000 after acquiring an additional 784,645 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,459 shares of company stock worth $19,883,236. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.83.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $483.15 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.10. The company's 50-day moving average price is $321.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.79. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $43.60 and a one year high of $483.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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 (DPR) is presently 2.99%.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and upbeat guidance — WDC reported an EPS beat and raised its FYQ4 EPS range, with accelerating revenue and margins driven by AI/data‑center HDD demand, which is a core reason investors are bidding the stock up. Western Digital Stock Surges After Q3 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades/price-target lifts — Multiple firms (including TD Cowen and Wells Fargo) raised price targets into the ~$500 area and reiterated buy/overweight views, reinforcing momentum and giving investors fresh upside conviction. AI Boom Drives Western Digital Toward $500 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Sector tailwind from SanDisk's breakout — SanDisk’s dramatic post‑spinoff rally and strength in memory suppliers supports a bullish narrative for WDC as customers scale AI/datacenter capacity. SanDisk Outpaces Former Parent
• Positive Sentiment: Risk‑on market backdrop and media endorsements — Falling VIX and bullish TV/press coverage (including Jim Cramer highlighting storage stocks) have helped rotate capital into tech and storage names like WDC. Jim Cramer on Storage Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Equity‑for‑equity exchange announced — WD entered agreements to exchange Sandisk and WDC shares (settlement expected May 7). This is a capital‑structure/holder rearrangement that is informational but not clearly dilutive or immediately value‑creating. WD Announces Equity-for-Equity Exchange
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach — WDC presented at Barclays’ conference and has widespread coverage; useful for transparency and flows but not an immediate catalyst. Barclays Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling / executive stock sales — CEO Irving Tan (20,000 shares under a 10b5‑1 plan) and other executives sold shares recently; while some sales were pre‑arranged, investors often view sizable insider selling near highs as a modest negative signal. Irving Tan SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider reductions — Other insiders (including the COO) sold smaller stakes this week, which may keep some traders cautious about near‑term profit‑taking risk. Executives Unload $10M+

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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