Elite Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 118.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,622 shares during the period. Western Digital accounts for approximately 1.9% of Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Elite Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $9,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $627,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Key Stories Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Storage and memory stocks recovered as investors reassessed fears that election-related policy changes would derail AI investment. Strategists say the AI buildout is still expected to continue, though potentially on a longer timeline. Western Digital Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Bets AI Storage Demand Outlasts Election Rout
- Positive Sentiment: Fundamental commentary highlights stronger pricing, demand for higher-capacity hard drives, and operational efficiencies as drivers of Western Digital’s gross-margin expansion. Zacks Research also upgraded the stock from “hold” to “strong-buy.” Western Digital’s Gross Margin Momentum: How Long Can It Last?
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly supportive, with a reported consensus Buy rating and average price target near $589. However, one valuation estimate was recently reduced from $650.67 to $613.38, reflecting a reassessment of HDD strength, spending plans, and future supply. Nasdaq Suffers Worst AI Panic in Years as Nvidia, SanDisk, and Western Digital Sink Western Digital Stock Sees Fair Value Cut
- Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that proposed federal oversight, permitting restrictions, or caps on new data centers could slow AI infrastructure spending—an important source of expected storage demand. That concern drove a sharp selloff Thursday before the reported rebound. Why Are Western Digital Shares Falling on AI Data Center Policy Risk?
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently commented on WDC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen cut 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 note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $490.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WDC
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Western Digital Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $263.78 on Monday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $132.43 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $406.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $418.97.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.78 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.1750 dividend. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.72%.
Western Digital Profile
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.
Western Digital serves customers around the world.
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