Cynthia Tregillis Sells 1,007 Shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Key Points

• Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 Western Digital shares for approximately $481,709 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing her ownership by 0.89% to 112,155 shares.
• Western Digital reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $3.56 EPS and $3.75 billion in revenue, up 43.8% year over year. The company guided for next-quarter EPS of $3.85 to $4.15.
• Despite the stock trading at $462, analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $534.56. Western Digital also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, representing a 0.1% yield.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $6.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $462.00. 7,597,984 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,125,753. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $799.87. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $532.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $439.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WDC. UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 target price on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Western Digital’s AI- and cloud-storage growth thesis remains intact. Industry momentum from AI infrastructure, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and automotive applications is supporting expectations for continued demand. 3 Storage Devices Stocks to Buy as the Industry Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A recent exchange of approximately $191 million of 3% convertible notes due 2028 is viewed as constructive liability management because it can reduce debt, although issuing shares may create some dilution. What’s Going on With Western Digital Stock on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital recently reported revenue growth of 44% year over year to $3.75 billion and earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates. Its next-quarter earnings guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 per share also supports the bullish fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and analyst indicators remain favorable: a recent hammer chart pattern suggested potential support, while upward earnings-estimate revisions and a bullish Wall Street consensus point to possible longer-term recovery. Western Digital May Find a Bottom Soon

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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