Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) CEO Irving Tan Sells 20,000 Shares of Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Trading Up 3.7%

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $16.17 on Wednesday, hitting $454.10. 5,736,502 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,496,960. The company has a market cap of $156.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $73.14 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $558.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $423.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 18.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $147,275,000 after purchasing an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,270,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Western Digital by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $193,303,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares during the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $20,889,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 145.8% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,950 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after buying an additional 3,529 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven storage demand is supporting the sector. A reported deepening memory shortage and a neocloud company’s results highlighted continued spending on AI infrastructure, lifting expectations for demand for Western Digital’s hard-disk drives and NAND products. Memory shortage article
• Positive Sentiment: Higher-capacity drives are improving margins. Favorable pricing, lower costs, and new ePMR products are helping Western Digital expand margins, while demand for high-capacity drives remains strong. Western Digital margin article
• Positive Sentiment: Cash flow provides a fundamental catalyst. Western Digital generated approximately $3.5 billion in fiscal 2026 free cash flow, driven by stronger demand, pricing, and high-capacity drives. Investors are now assessing whether that momentum can continue into fiscal 2027. Western Digital free cash flow article
• Positive Sentiment: Valuation and momentum views remain supportive. One valuation update raised Western Digital’s estimated fair value from $584.79 to $662.13, while momentum screens continued to identify WDC as a potential 2026 outperformer. Western Digital fair value article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable, with the average brokerage recommendation equivalent to “Buy,” although the reliability of consensus ratings can be limited when expectations are already optimistic. Western Digital analyst recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: The main risks are execution during technology transitions and uncertainty over how long elevated storage pricing and AI-related demand will translate into higher margins. Investors are also questioning whether fiscal 2026’s exceptional cash-flow growth is sustainable.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho set a $590.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.