Founders Financial Securities LLC Buys New Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Founders Financial Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.8% during the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 807 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,392,640. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $366.11 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $132.43 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $421.46 and a 200-day moving average of $416.75.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.33%.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 and free cash flow of $1.38 billion, exceeding expectations. Management also forecast approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue and $5.80 in non-GAAP EPS, signaling continued strength in AI-related data-center storage demand. Western Digital slides as strong results fail to calm spending and sector worries
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain well above the current trading level, with Quiver Quantitative citing a six-month median target of $650. Several analysts view Western Digital as a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion and rising demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives. Western Digital selloff and analyst targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI data-center spending. However, comparisons favor Seagate on some metrics, including return on equity, valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially affecting investor preference within the storage group. Seagate versus Western Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending and lofty storage-sector valuations can remain sustainable. A sharp decline in Sandisk and weakness across memory and semiconductor stocks amplified pressure on WDC, even after Sandisk delivered strong results and raised guidance. Memory-sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending of $227 million, continued buybacks and capacity and technology-transition needs have raised concerns about cash demands and future returns. Profit-taking after WDC’s substantial earlier advance may also be contributing to the decline. Quiver also reports 110 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, an additional sentiment headwind. Western Digital spending and insider activity

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.