Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $1,051,930.26 in Stock

Key Points

• Cynthia Tregillis, an insider at Western Digital, sold 14,067 shares for approximately $1,051,930.26, reducing her stake by 9.41% to a total of 135,351 shares valued at around $10.1 million.
• Western Digital reported $1.66 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 30% year-over-year revenue increase with total revenue of $2.61 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, contributing to a 0.5% dividend yield, while also authorizing a stock buyback plan of up to $2 billion.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $79.22. 5,398,593 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,417,643. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $79.84. The company's 50 day moving average price is $68.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The business's revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.77%.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.39.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, CNB Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.

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