Rep. Jefferson Shreve Purchases Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Representative Jefferson Shreve (R-Indiana) recently bought shares of Western Digital Co. NASDAQ: WDC. In a filing disclosed on May 08th, the Representative disclosed that they had bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in Western Digital stock on April 17th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "CRT - STANDARD UNIT TRUST" account.

Representative Jefferson Shreve also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill NYSE: CMG on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $50,001 - $100,000 in shares of Applied Materials NASDAQ: AMAT on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Caterpillar NYSE: CAT on 4/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Lululemon Athletica NASDAQ: LULU on 4/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Zoetis NYSE: ZTS on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Stryker NYSE: SYK on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of NextEra Energy NYSE: NEE on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of CSX NASDAQ: CSX on 4/17/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Ross Stores NASDAQ: ROST on 4/17/2025.
• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Meta Platforms NASDAQ: META on 4/17/2025.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.40. 2,816,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,374,266. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.58%.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $64.15.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,494 shares of company stock valued at $636,747 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Representative Shreve

Jefferson Shreve (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Indiana's 6th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Shreve (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Indiana's 6th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography. Jefferson Shreve earned a bachelor's degree from Indiana University in 1989, a graduate degree from the University of London in 1998, and a graduate degree from Purdue University in 2003. Shreve's career experience includes working as a real estate executive. Shreve was elected 7th District Vice Chairman of the Indiana Republican State Committee on January 17, 2018, and was re-elected on March 6, 2021. In 2020, he was selected as a district-level delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention.

About Western Digital

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.