SEB Asset Management AB Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB opened a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter, buying 95,487 shares valued at about $25.8 million.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 beating estimates and revenue of $3.34 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 45.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive, with several firms raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target of $520.32.

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 95,487 shares of the data storage provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,828,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 9.2% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 33.3% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $811,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,782 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $477.22 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $560.89 and its 200 day moving average is $386.04. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $66.04 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The company has a market capitalization of $164.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The company's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New coverage says Western Digital is well positioned to benefit from global AI infrastructure growth, with rising demand for advanced memory and storage supporting a stronger long-term revenue outlook. 4 Top-Ranked Memory Stocks to Buy as AI Infrastructure Expands Globally
• Positive Sentiment: Another report highlighted Western Digital as one of two smaller AI storage names that could benefit from expanding data center demand, citing improving margins and earnings growth potential. Everyone's Buying NVIDIA, but 2 Smaller AI Stocks Could Soar Higher
• Positive Sentiment: A separate Zacks piece argues AI data growth is accelerating HDD demand and that Western Digital’s focused strategy could help it capture hyperscale storage opportunities. AI Data Growth is Exploding: Can Western Digital Keep Up?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several market wrap-ups noted high volatility in tech and momentum stocks, which is adding noise to trading in Western Digital and other memory names. The Tech Shakeout: Market Extremes & Gavin Baker's Bold Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street commentary also flagged Western Digital as part of a broader AI-memory trade, with analysts still generally constructive but market sentiment swinging sharply day to day. Which Storage Stock Is Best Positioned to Win the AI Memory War?
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple reports said Western Digital fell alongside SanDisk and Micron as investors took profits in semiconductor and memory stocks, reflecting sector-wide rotation rather than company-specific trouble. Nasdaq Slips as Chip Stocks Come Under Pressure
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital also faced a post-rally pullback as traders reassessed how durable the AI-driven storage boom will be ahead of the company’s next earnings report and guidance. Why Western Digital (WDC) Stock Is Down Today

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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