Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 4.7% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) traded up 4.7% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $354.98 and last traded at $347.6710. 1,599,953 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 8,609,081 shares. The stock had previously closed at $332.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.26.

Western Digital Stock Up 7.0%

The company’s fifty day moving average is $442.85 and its 200-day moving average is $478.41. The company has a market cap of $133.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.48%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 45.5% during the second quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.