Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by AXQ Capital LP

Key Points

• AXQ Capital LP sharply reduced its Western Digital stake by 78.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,863 shares and leaving it with 2,383 shares worth about $411,000.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, while 92.51% of Western Digital’s stock remains owned by institutions and hedge funds.
• Western Digital posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and the company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.15 per share.

AXQ Capital LP cut its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 78.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,383 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 8,863 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in Western Digital were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. a16z Perennial Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. a16z Perennial Management L.P. now owns 2,011 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 16,314 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,810,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Ellevest Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Black Swift Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $2,153,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,342,096. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 28,890 shares of company stock valued at $12,532,851 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $575.50 on Friday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $417.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $293.25. The company has a market cap of $198.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.22 and a fifty-two week high of $602.54.

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 net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The firm's 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. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. 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 yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays raised their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $424.33.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s recent Computex 2026 messaging reinforced the idea that AI demand is not just about chips, but about storage and data movement, supporting the stock’s AI-related momentum. AI isn’t just a compute race. It’s a data race – and storage will decide the winners, WD shares
• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly raised its price target on Western Digital by 37%, which likely boosted investor confidence and helped send shares to fresh highs. Western Digital (WDC) Hits All-Time High as Citi Hikes PT by 37%
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital also announced a convertible-debt exchange, which investors may view as a cleaner capital structure that gives the company more flexibility for future AI-related moves. Western Digital Restructures Convertible Debt via Equity Exchange
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary continues to frame Western Digital as a beneficiary of the AI storage supercycle, with tighter supply and firm pricing supporting the earnings outlook. How The Western Digital (WDC) Investment Story Is Shifting With AI Storage And New Valuations
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s recent earnings were strong, with revenue and EPS beating estimates, which continues to underpin the rally in the stock. Western Digital stock and company profile
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock also drew attention from a conference presentation and ongoing coverage, but these items did not introduce a clearly new catalyst on their own. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Presents at 2026 Evercore Global TMT Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: A small insider sale by a company executive may have slightly cooled sentiment, though it was modest relative to the insider’s remaining holdings. SEC filing for insider sale
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term stock weakness may also reflect broad semiconductor-sector pressure after weak AI-chip commentary from peers, which can spill over into storage names like Western Digital. Micron Drops 7% as Broadcom's Disappointing AI Outlook Triggers a Semiconductor Selloff

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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