Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) SVP Sells $136,697.84 in Stock

Key Points

• Western Digital's SVP Gene Zamiska sold 1,828 shares for a total of $136,697.84, reducing their holdings to 29,732 shares, valued at approximately $2.22 million.
• The company reported a 30% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.61 billion and earnings per share of $1.66, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Western Digital announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.5% yield and plans for a $2 billion share buyback program.

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) SVP Gene Zamiska sold 1,828 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $136,697.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 29,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,223,358.96. This represents a 5.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $2.25 during trading 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 market cap of $27.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.13 and a 200 day moving average of $54.93. Western Digital Corporation has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $79.84. 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 (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.540-1.690 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 declared that its board has approved a share 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 usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 86.9% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 47.2% during the second quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 577 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Benchmark raised their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $78.39.

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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