Bahl & Gaynor LLC Sells 53,389 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Bahl & Gaynor LLC cut its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 267,778 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 53,389 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $121,694,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WDC. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,436 shares of company stock worth $2,440,664 in the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $289.20 on Wednesday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $132.43 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $400.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $419.44. The company has a market capitalization of $108.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital shares climbed as investors bought back into the stock following the recent decline; peer storage names also rallied, suggesting a sector-wide rebound contributed. Western Digital climbs amid rebound from recent selloff
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Western Digital’s exposure to AI-driven storage demand, including cloud growth and adoption of higher-capacity hard drives, with strong growth prospects cited for fiscal 2027. This supports the longer-term bull case, though it is not a new company announcement. Western Digital and the AI storage boom
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report says short interest was zero shares as of November 10, despite describing it as a significant increase. The figures appear inconsistent and do not provide clear evidence of short-covering as a catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Law firm Levi & Korsinsky announced an investigation into possible fiduciary-duty breaches by certain Western Digital officers and directors. The notice does not establish wrongdoing, but may add a legal and reputational overhang. Shareholder investigation announcement

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.