Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• O Shaughnessy Asset Management increased its Western Digital stake by 190.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 108,002 shares to reach 164,732 shares valued at about $28.4 million.
• Western Digital posted a strong quarterly beat, reporting $2.72 EPS versus the $2.39 estimate and revenue of $3.34 billion, up 45.5% year over year. The company also raised its Q4 2026 guidance to 3.100-3.400 EPS.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, while analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $433.29.

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 190.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,732 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 108,002 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $28,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,196,484,000 after purchasing an additional 243,177 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at $788,729,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,884,000 after buying an additional 384,103 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $456,737,000 after buying an additional 402,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $526.93 on Tuesday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $54.60 and a one year high of $602.54. The company has a market cap of $181.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46 and a beta of 2.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $427.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The business had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $488.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $433.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total transaction of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho reportedly raised targets on Western Digital and peers, citing an AI-driven memory supply crunch that could extend through 2027, a bullish setup for pricing power and earnings. Memory Stocks Sandisk (SNDK), Seagate (STX), and Western Digital (WDC) Surge on AI-Driven Demand Forecast
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo recently increased its price target on WDC, reinforcing the bullish analyst backdrop that has helped support the stock’s rally. Wells Fargo Raises Western Digital (WDC) Price Target by $75
• Positive Sentiment: Memory and storage names, including Western Digital, are rebounding sharply after Friday’s selloff, suggesting momentum traders are pushing the stock higher even without a fresh company-specific announcement. Micron Rockets 8%, Western Digital Surges 7%, SanDisk Pops 6% in Memory-Stock Snap-Back
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles question whether the stock is still a buy after a massive run-up, which reflects investor debate more than a clear fundamental shift. Up 981%, Is Western Digital Stock Still a Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Social-media and market chatter also highlight strong performance, debt-management via convertible note exchanges, and broad semiconductor-sector strength, but these are more supportive context than direct catalysts. Western Digital Stock (WDC) Opinions on Strong Performance and Note Exchanges

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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