Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,465 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,896 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 9.2% during the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,782 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Western Digital Stock Up 2.1%
WDC opened at $487.42 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $560.32 and a 200 day moving average of $388.23. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $66.04 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $168.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10 and a beta of 2.11.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.58%.
Key Stories Impacting Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital is benefiting from a rebound in memory stocks as investors step back in after last week’s selloff, improving sentiment across the semiconductor group. Micron Jumps 5%, SanDisk Rises 6%, Western Digital Climbs 4% as Memory Stocks Rebound With Chips
- Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s view that the memory-stock selloff created a strong entry point is encouraging dip-buying in Western Digital and other chip names. The Memory Stock Sell-Off Created a ‘Strong Entry Point,’ Says Morgan Stanley. Investors Are Buying In.
- Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital Malaysia was recognized for advancing sustainable AI infrastructure, which supports the company’s AI narrative but is unlikely to be the main stock-moving catalyst today. WD Malaysia Recognized for Advancing Sustainable AI Infrastructure
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently weighed in on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Fox Advisors cut shares of Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $520.32.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Western Digital
Insider Activity at Western Digital
In other news, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total transaction of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,640,420.80. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,959 shares of company stock worth $12,631,666. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
About Western Digital
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.
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