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

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

Western Digital Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $266.22 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $309.90. The firm has a market cap of $90.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued 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 yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 5.02%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avion Wealth grew its stake in Western Digital by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 551.4% in 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 period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 $20+ a floor), comments that underpin a higher‑profitability narrative and support valuation. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Sets Sights on 50%+ Gross Margin and EPS $20+
• Positive Sentiment: WDC has completed the pivot to a pure HDD company, reporting long‑term supply deals with hyperscale cloud customers, production capacity fully committed through 2026 and agreements extending to 2028 — a revenue visibility and cash‑flow positive development after the Flash divestiture and a $3.1B stake sale/debt reduction. Western Digital Bets On Pure HDD Future Tied To Hyperscale Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts (Zacks, Wells Fargo coverage referenced) are highlighting the storage sector pullback as a buying opportunity given rising AI/cloud storage demand; this analyst tone can lift investor sentiment and provide multiple catalysts for further upside. The Zacks Analyst Blog Western Digital, Seagate Technology and Sandisk
• Neutral Sentiment: WDC is drawing heightened retail/investor attention (rising search and coverage), which can increase short‑term volatility and volume — useful for liquidity but mixed for directional certainty. Investors Heavily Search Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: The breakout performance of spun‑off SanDisk (SNDK) — now a multi‑bagger — is drawing headlines and investor capital; this can be a distraction or a positive signal for storage demand, depending on whether investors view WDC’s HDD focus as the better play. 5 Reasons Why Sandisk Can Rise Another 1,500%
• Negative Sentiment: An insider (Vidyadhara K. Gubbi) sold 8,518 shares at an average $255.32 (~7.9% reduction of that holding), a disclosure that can create short‑term selling pressure or prompt investor questions about timing and motives. SEC filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $240.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $265.58.

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.