Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $214,571.28 in Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.78, for a total value of $214,571.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 114,784 shares in the company, valued at $51,742,331.52. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.6%

Western Digital stock opened at $459.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $526.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.63.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% during the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.