Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $481,708.52 in Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $459.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $526.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $439.63. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 229.7% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

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.