Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Bought by Diversify Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Institutional investors increased exposure to Western Digital: Diversify Advisory Services raised its stake by 79.4% to 11,631 shares, while institutional investors collectively own 92.51% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: Western Digital has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $609.56, supported by recent earnings that exceeded expectations and 43.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Risks include insider selling and market volatility: Company insiders sold $11.0 million of shares over the past three months, while WDC remains well below its 52-week high amid concerns about data-center spending and the sustainability of AI-driven storage demand.

Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 79.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,631 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,146 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $310,018,000 after purchasing an additional 153,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,629 shares of company stock worth $11,033,404. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WDC shares. Zacks Research lowered Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $378.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $117.23 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $438.14 and a 200-day moving average of $480.05.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning for a potential earnings beat. Western Digital has a strong history of exceeding estimates, and analysts expect management to report continued momentum in its upcoming results. Why Western Digital Is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating trends support the bullish case: the prior quarter delivered revenue growth of roughly 44% year over year, expanding margins and more than $1 billion in free cash flow. Management’s previous guidance called for fiscal Q1 revenue growth of approximately 42% to 49%, reflecting strong demand for high-capacity drives. Western Digital Rises Ahead of Earnings as Investors Bet on Strong Storage Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $800 and maintained a Buy rating. Morgan Stanley also expects strong results and improved guidance, while its $643 target remains substantially above the current trading level. Seagate and Western Digital Stocks Gain
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the recent rebound, WDC remains in a severe bear-market pattern after falling more than half from its June high. The earnings report and forward guidance will be critical in determining whether AI-related storage demand can support a sustained recovery. Western Digital Stock Is Stuck in a Bear Market
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include concerns that data-center spending could slow, alongside broader questions about AI investment financing and competition. In addition, insider transactions reported over the past six months were exclusively sales, which may weigh on investor confidence. Cramer Warns on Western Digital and SanDisk

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.

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