Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Up 1.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) rose 1.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $428.14 and last traded at $416.97. 7,211,223 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 8,591,520 shares. The stock had previously closed at $411.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2%

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $487.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.19. The stock has a market cap of $143.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total value of $194,918.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 111,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,096,736. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $147,275,000 after purchasing an additional 96,078 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Western Digital by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,122,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $193,303,000 after buying an additional 282,156 shares in the last quarter. CloudAlpha Capital Management Limited Hong Kong acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,889,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $19,694,000. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $14,466,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.