Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $103.21 and last traded at $102.92, with a volume of 1258005 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $97.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.89.

Western Digital Trading Up 5.1%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.69.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. This trade represents a 9.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 151,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,687,602.84. This represents a 6.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 49,975 shares of company stock valued at $3,935,806. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 22,460 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,719 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $520,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 220.0% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 18,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 12,899 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Wellington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $845,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.