Emerald Investment Advisers LLC Invests $11.38 Million in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Emerald Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,816 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,379,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $459.44 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $74.57 and a one year high of $799.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $552.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $433.31. The company has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price target on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Mizuho set a $590.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total value of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 3,903 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,679 shares of company stock worth $11,451,605. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.