Western Digital Corporation $WDC Shares Sold by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• John G Ullman & Associates Inc. reduced its Western Digital stake by 15.4% in Q4, selling 11,750 shares and leaving it with 64,308 shares worth about $11.1 million.
• Western Digital reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 and revenue of $3.34 billion, both above analyst estimates, while revenue jumped 45.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share from $0.13, and Wall Street remains broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $395.83.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,308 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 11,750 shares during the quarter. Western Digital accounts for 1.5% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $11,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 3rd 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. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $791,317,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,884,000 after purchasing an additional 384,103 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,737,000 after acquiring an additional 402,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4,923.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $409,049,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339,225 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $405.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Western Digital from $405.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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 PE ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 2.10. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $49.00 and a 52-week high of $525.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $352.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during 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%.The business's revenue was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 2.99%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total value of $2,071,470.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,905,270.79. This trade represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.