World Investment Advisors Acquires 3,529 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its Western Digital stake by 145.8% in the fourth quarter, adding 3,529 shares to bring its total to 5,950 shares valued at about $1.0 million.
• Western Digital reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.72 beating estimates and revenue rising 45.5% year over year to $3.34 billion. The company also guided Q4 2026 EPS to a range of $3.10 to $3.40.
• The company raised 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 $395.83.

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 145.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,950 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,529 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of WDC stock opened at $482.20 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $49.00 and a twelve month high of $525.15. The company has a market cap of $166.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.79 and a beta of 2.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $352.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $257.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $340.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, 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. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,137,796.14. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 53,679 shares of company stock worth $18,049,314. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

More 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.

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.