Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Gene Zamiska Sells 3,160 Shares

Key Points

• Gene Zamiska, Senior Vice President of Western Digital, sold 3,160 shares of the company's stock at an average price of $75.68, decreasing his ownership by 9.10% and retaining 31,560 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• Western Digital reported a 30% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year, achieving $2.61 billion in revenue and an EPS of $1.66, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company has authorized a $2 billion stock buyback program to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares, indicating a belief from the board that the stock is undervalued.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) SVP Gene Zamiska sold 3,160 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.68, for a total transaction of $239,148.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 31,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,388,460.80. The trade was a 9.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.9%

Western Digital stock traded up $2.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $79.22. 5,398,593 shares of the company traded hands, 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $68.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58.

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

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 102.5% in 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. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, CNB Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WDC shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.39.

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.

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