NewEdge Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

NewEdge Advisors LLC cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,193 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 8,355 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $67,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WDC. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $477.30 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $92.70 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $449.44. The firm has a market cap of $164.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI demand supports long-term growth prospects. Rising data volumes from AI inference, agentic AI and other emerging workloads could increase demand for Western Digital’s data-storage products, offering a potential structural growth catalyst. AI Data Explosion: Can WDC Become a Bigger Storage Winner?
• Positive Sentiment: Strong free cash flow may support shareholder returns. Western Digital entered fiscal 2027 with improved cash generation and a net cash position. Continued free-cash-flow returns through buybacks and dividends may strengthen the investment case and help support the stock. Can Western Digital’s Strong FCF Sustain Buybacks and Dividends?
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital showed relative strength during a weaker market session. The stock gained while the overall market dipped, suggesting continued investor demand for the company’s earnings momentum and AI-related storage opportunity. Why the Market Dipped But Western Digital Gained Today
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated. Western Digital was among the stocks heavily searched by Zacks users, which can increase near-term trading interest but does not by itself indicate improving fundamentals or guarantee continued gains. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.