Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC Takes $1.65 Million Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Safeguard Investment Advisory Group acquired 2,580 Western Digital shares worth approximately $1.65 million, while institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.51% of the stock.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56, exceeding estimates of $3.31, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. The company guided for first-quarter 2027 EPS of $3.85–$4.15.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $534.56; the company also declared a $0.15 quarterly dividend, equal to a 0.1% yield.

Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,580 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,648,000. Western Digital comprises approximately 0.4% of Safeguard Investment Advisory Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $788,729,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $221,800,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $901,601,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $885,565,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $459.44 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $552.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $434.46. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $74.57 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business's revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $534.56.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. The trade was a 16.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 24,679 shares of company stock worth $11,451,605 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Western Digital

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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