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

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the transaction, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $460.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $94.41 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $495.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $452.06.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. 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 firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue 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 predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Fox Advisors cut Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup reduced 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, UBS Group cut their target price on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target to $740. Analyst Asiya Merchant cited strong AI-driven storage demand and supply constraints. The target remains well above recent trading levels. Western Digital Buy Rating Reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest results remain a fundamental support. The company exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, with revenue up 43.8% year over year, and issued fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15. Western Digital Earnings and Stock Information
• Neutral Sentiment: The decline was broadly sector-driven. Western Digital fell alongside Seagate and Micron as higher Treasury yields and rising oil prices pressured growth-oriented technology stocks. The company had no new earnings warning or negative corporate announcement. Memory Stocks Slide as Rates and Oil Rise
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data appears unreliable. The latest report lists zero shares short and zero days to cover, while also describing a significant increase; investors should not treat this as a meaningful trading signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider selling added to investor caution. Recent filings showed sales by executives and directors, and Quiver reported 110 insider sales versus no purchases over the past six months. Several transactions were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, which reduces their significance but may still weigh on sentiment. Western Digital Insider Selling

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.8% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 45.5% in the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.