Key Points
- Insider sale: Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 Western Digital shares for approximately $825,467 at an average price of $459.87, reducing direct ownership by 2.18% to 80,571 shares.
- Strong operating results: Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56, exceeding estimates by $0.25, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. The company issued fiscal Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15.
- Positive analyst sentiment and shareholder returns: Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $534.56, while Western Digital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, equal to a 0.1% yield.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total transaction of $194,918.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 111,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,096,736. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Western Digital Stock Up 2.1%
NASDAQ WDC opened at $477.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $164.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 2.13. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $92.70 and a twelve month high of $799.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $499.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $449.44.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. 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 is presently 2.48%.
Institutional Trading of Western Digital
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $88,000. RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $261,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $215,000. Hudock Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in Western Digital by 52.2% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,004 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $5,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Western Digital News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI demand supports long-term growth prospects. Rising data volumes from AI inference, agentic AI and other emerging workloads could increase demand for Western Digital’s data-storage products, offering a potential structural growth catalyst. AI Data Explosion: Can WDC Become a Bigger Storage Winner?
- Positive Sentiment: Strong free cash flow may support shareholder returns. Western Digital entered fiscal 2027 with improved cash generation and a net cash position. Continued free-cash-flow returns through buybacks and dividends may strengthen the investment case and help support the stock. Can Western Digital's Strong FCF Sustain Buybacks and Dividends?
- Positive Sentiment: Western Digital showed relative strength during a weaker market session. The stock gained while the overall market dipped, suggesting continued investor demand for the company’s earnings momentum and AI-related storage opportunity. Why the Market Dipped But Western Digital Gained Today
- Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated. Western Digital was among the stocks heavily searched by Zacks users, which can increase near-term trading interest but does not by itself indicate improving fundamentals or guarantee continued gains. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation
Analyst Ratings Changes
WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $575.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.
Read Our Latest Analysis on WDC
About Western Digital
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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