Western Digital Corporation $WDC is WCM Investment Management LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• WCM Investment Management slightly reduced its Western Digital stake by 1.9% in Q1, but the stock remains a major holding, ranking as its 6th-largest position and representing about 3.8% of the fund’s portfolio.
• Western Digital beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $2.72 EPS versus $2.39 expected and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 45.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 from $0.12.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with several firms lifting price targets and the consensus rating standing at “Moderate Buy.” However, recent insider sales and sector volatility have added some caution around the stock.

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,561,810 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 129,399 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for about 3.8% of WCM Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.90% of Western Digital worth $1,651,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 80.2% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $520.32.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $477.22 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $560.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $386.04. The company has a market cap of $164.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.04 and a 52-week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. The business's quarterly 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. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital's payout ratio is 3.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total transaction of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. The trade was a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 116,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Western Digital News

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

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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