Cynthia Tregillis Sells 308 Shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Western Digital insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 308 shares on May 22 at an average price of $488.61, worth about $150,492. The transaction was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Strong earnings and guidance: Western Digital recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, reporting $2.72 EPS on $3.34 billion in revenue. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.15 and set Q4 2026 guidance at $3.10 to $3.40 EPS.
• Stock and analyst momentum: Shares were trading higher, near their 1-year high, as analysts remain broadly constructive with a consensus Moderate Buy rating. Market commentary also points to AI-driven demand and a broader memory sector rally as supportive catalysts.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 308 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $488.61, for a total value of $150,491.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 118,135 shares of the company's stock, valued at $57,721,942.35. The trade was a 0.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.1%

WDC traded up $5.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $530.60. 6,260,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,004,754. The firm's fifty day moving average is $382.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $274.09. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $51.17 and a 1-year high of $546.68. The company has a market cap of $182.89 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 2.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The company had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. Western Digital's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's payout ratio is 3.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Avion Wealth raised its stake in Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 207.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Argus set a $300.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $470.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $413.50.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI raised its price target on Western Digital and called the stock “underappreciated,” arguing that AI infrastructure demand should support hard disk drive growth at more than 25% annually for years. Hard Disk Drives Are Critical for AI but Western Digital Stock Is Still Underappreciated Here
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted Western Digital as a beneficiary of the broader “memory melt-up,” with Micron’s surge and the memory shortage improving pricing visibility and free cash flow prospects across the storage sector. Micron’s $1 Trillion Memory Melt-Up
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and comparison pieces favored Western Digital as a steadier data infrastructure play, citing its scale, AI-linked growth, and stronger profitability versus turnaround stories in the space. WDC vs. QMCO: Which Data Infrastructure Stock to Bet On?
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital was also mentioned in broader market coverage about tech strength and rising investor attention, reinforcing momentum but adding little company-specific new information. Stocks Rise Pre-Bell Amid Tech Rally; Middle East Uncertainty Persists
• Negative Sentiment: One article noted that Western Digital insiders sold about $18 million of stock, which may slightly temper enthusiasm even though insider sales do not necessarily signal a change in fundamentals. Western Digital Insiders Sold US$18m Of Shares Suggesting Hesitancy

About Western Digital

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.

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