Vidyadhara Gubbi Sells 8,518 Shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total value of $2,174,815.76. Following the sale, the insider owned 99,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,347,148.32. The trade was a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $4.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $266.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,647,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,288,892. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $309.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $248.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.75.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The firm’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.02%.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Management is publicly targeting 50%+ gross margins and EPS north of $20 (management called that a floor), which supports a higher valuation multiple if execution continues. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Sets Sights on 50%+ Gross Margin and EPS $20+
• Positive Sentiment: WDC has completed its transition to a pure-play HDD company and reports long-term supply agreements with hyperscalers and fully committed capacity through 2026 (contracts extending to 2028), giving revenue visibility and supporting margin improvement. Western Digital Bets On Pure HDD Future Tied To Hyperscale Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts (Zacks) highlight WDC among storage names with sizable upside after a sector pullback, citing AI and cloud-driven storage demand — supportive for forward estimates and upgrades. The Zacks Analyst Blog Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Sandisk
• Neutral Sentiment: WDC is drawing heavy investor attention and search interest, which can increase short-term liquidity/volatility but doesn’t directly change fundamentals. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Spin-off Sandisk (SNDK) continues to outsize moves (recent headlines on SNDK’s run). A strong SNDK can alter market narratives about WDC’s prior Flash business, but the direct impact depends on WDC’s remaining economic exposure. 5 Reasons Why Sandisk Can Rise Another 1,500%
• Negative Sentiment: Sector volatility: Zacks flagged that WDC, STX and SNDK had each slid more than 10% in the prior month — a reminder that near-term downside risk remains if HDD pricing or macro demand softens. 3 Computer Storage Devices Stocks With Huge Upside to Buy on the Dip

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $260.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, China Renaissance initiated coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, December 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $193.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.58.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 551.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.