Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $2,174,815.76 in Stock

Key Points

  • Insider sale: Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 8,518 shares at an average price of $255.32 for a total of $2,174,815.76, a transaction disclosed in an SEC filing that reduced their stake by about 7.9%.
  • Strong quarterly results and strategic pivot: Western Digital beat expectations with Q EPS of $2.13 (vs. $1.93 est.) and revenue of $3.02B (up 25.2% YoY), while management is targeting >50% gross margins and EPS north of $20 as the company pivots to a pure HDD focus with multi‑year hyperscale supply deals.
  • Dividend announced: The company declared a $0.125 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.50, ~0.2% yield) payable March 18 to holders of record on March 5, with an ex‑dividend date of March 5.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total transaction of $2,174,815.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 99,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,347,148.32. This represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $266.22 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.86. The company has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $309.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.Western Digital's revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend




The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital's payout ratio is presently 5.02%.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

  • Positive Sentiment: Management is publicly targeting >50% gross margins and EPS north of $20 (management called $20+ a floor), comments that underpin a higher‑profitability narrative and support valuation. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Sets Sights on 50%+ Gross Margin and EPS $20+
  • Positive Sentiment: WDC has completed the pivot to a pure HDD company, reporting long‑term supply deals with hyperscale cloud customers, production capacity fully committed through 2026 and agreements extending to 2028 — a revenue visibility and cash‑flow positive development after the Flash divestiture and a $3.1B stake sale/debt reduction. Western Digital Bets On Pure HDD Future Tied To Hyperscale Demand
  • Positive Sentiment: Analysts (Zacks, Wells Fargo coverage referenced) are highlighting the storage sector pullback as a buying opportunity given rising AI/cloud storage demand; this analyst tone can lift investor sentiment and provide multiple catalysts for further upside. The Zacks Analyst Blog Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Sandisk
  • Neutral Sentiment: WDC is drawing heightened retail/investor attention (rising search and coverage), which can increase short‑term volatility and volume — useful for liquidity but mixed for directional certainty. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Here is What You Need to Know
  • Neutral Sentiment: The breakout performance of spun‑off SanDisk (SNDK) — now a multi‑bagger — is drawing headlines and investor capital; this can be a distraction or a positive signal for storage demand, depending on whether investors view WDC’s HDD focus as the better play. 5 Reasons Why Sandisk Can Rise Another 1,500%
  • Negative Sentiment: An insider (Vidyadhara K. Gubbi) sold 8,518 shares at an average $255.32 (~7.9% reduction of that holding), a disclosure that can create short‑term selling pressure or prompt investor questions about timing and motives. SEC filing

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 551.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $265.58.

Get Our Latest Analysis on WDC

Western Digital Company Profile

(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.

See Also

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)

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