Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $825,466.65 in Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of WDC stock traded up $9.84 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $477.30. 6,389,724 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,114,668. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $92.70 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $499.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $449.44. The stock has a market cap of $164.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.13.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Western Digital News

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

  • Positive Sentiment: AI demand supports long-term growth prospects. Rising data volumes from AI inference, agentic AI and other emerging workloads could increase demand for Western Digital’s data-storage products, offering a potential structural growth catalyst. AI Data Explosion: Can WDC Become a Bigger Storage Winner?
  • Positive Sentiment: Strong free cash flow may support shareholder returns. Western Digital entered fiscal 2027 with improved cash generation and a net cash position. Continued free-cash-flow returns through buybacks and dividends may strengthen the investment case and help support the stock. Can Western Digital’s Strong FCF Sustain Buybacks and Dividends?
  • Positive Sentiment: Western Digital showed relative strength during a weaker market session. The stock gained while the overall market dipped, suggesting continued investor demand for the company’s earnings momentum and AI-related storage opportunity. Why the Market Dipped But Western Digital Gained Today
  • Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated. Western Digital was among the stocks heavily searched by Zacks users, which can increase near-term trading interest but does not by itself indicate improving fundamentals or guarantee continued gains. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Western Digital

About Western Digital

(Get Free Report)

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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