Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by ARS Investment Partners LLC

Key Points

• ARS Investment Partners cut its Western Digital stake by 37.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 152,655 shares and leaving it with 259,216 shares worth about $44.7 million.
• Despite that sale, institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other large investors owning about 92.5% of Western Digital’s shares. Several funds have recently boosted positions, including some large new or expanded stakes.
• Western Digital delivered strong results, beating quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.15 per share. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a price target near $395.83.

ARS Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 259,216 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 152,655 shares during the period. Western Digital makes up about 2.6% of ARS Investment Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Western Digital worth $44,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $791,317,000. Fred Alger Management LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $409,049,000 after purchasing an additional 3,339,225 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $221,800,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 175.4% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $78,347,000 after acquiring an additional 784,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Digital from $335.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Western Digital from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Western Digital from $405.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.83.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $482.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 2.10. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.00 and a 12-month high of $525.15. The business's 50 day moving average is $352.15 and its 200 day moving average is $256.77.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 2.99%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314 over the last 90 days. 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: Western Digital was named to the 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America, highlighting its ESG and sustainable AI infrastructure leadership. The company also said the index inclusion and improved operating profile reflect its growing role in AI data storage demand. WD Named to 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best‑in‑Class Index North America, Recognizing Leadership in Sustainable AI Infrastructure
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators continue to point to Western Digital’s AI storage exposure, with articles citing surging earnings, rising hyperscaler demand, and stronger shareholder returns after the SanDisk spinoff as reasons the stock has been trending higher. WDC's Whopping 893% Run in a Year: Buy the Stock Amid AI Storage Boom?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a 20% dividend increase, which investors may view as a sign of confidence in cash flow and capital returns alongside record AI-related demand for its storage and data platforms. Western Digital Links Higher Dividend And ESG Index Win To AI Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital is also showing up on “trending stock” lists, suggesting elevated investor interest, but these mentions do not add new fundamental information by themselves. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate note said Western Digital’s price target was raised, which can support sentiment but is still secondary to the bigger AI-storage and capital-return story. Western Digital (WDC) price target increased by 31.02% to 483.72
• Negative Sentiment: No major company-specific negative catalyst emerged in the latest headlines, though some coverage compares Western Digital with peers such as Micron and Seagate, which keeps valuation and competition in focus. Why I'd Rather Own Micron Stock Than Sandisk

Western Digital Company 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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