Vidyadhara Gubbi Sells 4,674 Shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of WDC on May 4 at an average $443.19 for about $2.07M, leaving them with 90,041 shares (a 4.93% reduction) per an SEC filing.
• Strong quarterly results and payout hike: Western Digital beat Q3 estimates with $2.72 EPS (vs. $2.39) and $3.34B revenue (vs. $3.25B), raised Q4 2026 EPS guidance to $3.10–$3.40, and increased the quarterly dividend to $0.15 ($0.60 annualized).
• Analyst optimism driving the rally: Multiple firms lifted targets (e.g., Rosenblatt $500, Cantor Fitzgerald $660), leaving a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target near $395.83, underpinning recent stock gains.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 4,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $443.19, for a total transaction of $2,071,470.06. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 90,041 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,905,270.79. This represents a 4.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded up $22.90 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $465.26. The company had a trading volume of 9,668,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,379,323. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $43.60 and a 1 year high of $480.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $157.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $314.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. Western Digital's revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.68 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $395.83.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat, raised guidance and dividend increase are driving investor interest — analysts and outlets cite stronger AI-driven storage demand and margin momentum as the fundamental support for the rally. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check As Strong AI Storage Demand And Dividend Hike Lift Investor Interest
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analysts are raising targets after the Q3 beat (some very high), which is underpinning optimism and fresh buy ratings. Western Digital (WDC) Stock Surges as Analysts Set $660 Price Target Following Q3 Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Independent bullish calls and price-target lifts (24/7 Wall St. $513 target; Jim Cramer supportive commentary) add momentum and retail attention. AI Boom Drives Western Digital Toward $500 Target Jim Cramer Says 'Overheated' Storage Stocks Still Have Room To Run
• Neutral Sentiment: SanDisk’s post-spinoff surge (now approaching ~$200B market cap) is shifting sector headlines; that strengthens the memory market narrative but also diverts some investor focus away from WDC. Sandisk Spun Off From Western Digital Just Last Year. Now It’s a $200B Company. Sandisk Spun Off From Western Digital Just Last Year. Now It's a $200B Company.
• Neutral Sentiment: Management’s investor presentations and conference appearances (Barclays transcript) are being used to reinforce the AI-storage story; useful for conviction but not new earnings. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Presents at Barclays 18th Annual Americas Select Conference Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and momentum risk: the stock has run hard YTD and month-to-month, and some measured price-targets (e.g., Robert W. Baird’s $450) imply limited near-term upside from levels in recent trading — raises the chance of profit-taking. Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC Price Target Raised to $450.00 at Robert W. Baird

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 9.2% in the first quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 357 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during the first quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 3,782 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

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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