Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 222.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,719 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,534 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $2,880,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 369 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 889 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,113 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Trending Headlines about Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from strong investor enthusiasm around AI-driven storage demand, with recent articles highlighting new AI-focused storage technologies, improved analyst valuation estimates, and expectations for firmer HDD and memory pricing. Why Western Digital (WDC) Is Up 12.0% After Unveiling New AI‑Focused Storage Technologies
- Positive Sentiment: Citigroup reportedly raised its price target on Western Digital by 37%, helping push the stock to fresh highs as investors positioned ahead of the company’s Computex-related AI announcements. Western Digital (WDC) Hits All-Time High as Citi Hikes PT by 37%
- Positive Sentiment: The company has also been cleaning up its balance sheet and making more AI-related moves, which some investors view as supporting additional upside. Western Digital Could Be Halfway Through Retiring 2028 Convertible Debt. What It Means for the Stock.
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s recent earnings were strong, with the company beating estimates and issuing upbeat guidance, but the stock still saw a short-term dip as some traders appeared to take profits after a big run. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Dips 3% Despite Strong Earnings—Should Investors Buy the Pullback?
- Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes that the broader market and semiconductor stocks have been choppy, with Broadcom’s cautious AI outlook pressuring memory names like Western Digital even after the company’s strong news flow. MU, SNDK, WDC: Memory Stocks Dip As Broadcom’s Forecast Dampens AI Sentiment, Retail Turns Buyer
- Negative Sentiment: One near-term headwind is profit-taking after Western Digital’s rapid run-up to all-time highs, which has led to some price weakness despite the longer-term bullish narrative. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Dips While Market Gains: Key Facts
Western Digital Stock Performance
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.99%.
Insider Activity at Western Digital
In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock worth $12,768,550 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 9th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Western Digital to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.33.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Western Digital
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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