Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Position Lessened by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management cut its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,240 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 5,568 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $22,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

Investors following WDC have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest outlook calls for quarterly revenue of $5.1 billion and gross margins of up to 61%, reinforcing expectations for strong demand and profitability. Western Digital Stocks Climb as AI Storage Names Rebound
• Positive Sentiment: A rebound across AI and storage hardware shares is helping WDC recover after a sharp pullback. Investors are also weighing its recent earnings beat, strong revenue growth, raised near-term outlook and dividend increase as signs of business momentum and cash generation. Why Western Digital Stock Is Up Today
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include concerns about the sustainability and financing of AI infrastructure spending, which could affect expectations for data-center demand. A shareholder-law-firm investigation announced earlier this week is also a potential, though unsubstantiated, legal overhang. Shareholder Investigation Announcement

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Up 8.3%

WDC stock opened at $313.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.27. Western Digital Corporation has a 12-month low of $132.43 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $397.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $419.83.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $540.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.