Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation by 94.4%, owning 56,058 shares worth approximately $3.7 million as of the end of the most recent quarter.
• Western Digital received positive upgrades from several analysts, with target prices raised by firms like Morgan Stanley and Mizuho to $99.00 and $120.00, respectively, indicating a consensus average target price of $89.63.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a profit of $1.66 EPS, exceeding estimates, and a revenue increase of 30.0% year-over-year, with a market capitalization of $37.29 billion.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 94.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,058 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,220 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $3,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,483 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,080 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,395 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,835,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,059 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Mizuho raised their price target on Western Digital from $87.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.63.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total value of $28,557.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 27,425 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. The trade was a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total value of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares in the company, valued at $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,594. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $106.88 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $113.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $84.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%.The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's payout ratio is 7.77%.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.