3,487 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC Bought by Parametrica Management Ltd

Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,487 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,585,000. Western Digital accounts for 1.1% of Parametrica Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $310,018,000 after purchasing an additional 153,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wedbush increased their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s fiscal first-quarter results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $4.64 per share versus the $4.11 consensus and revenue of $4.38 billion versus $4.14 billion expected. Revenue increased 55.5% year over year. Western Digital Corporation 2027 Q1 Results Earnings Call Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: The company recently raised its quarterly dividend by 16.7%, adding to the shareholder-return case after its strong earnings report. Western Digital Raises Dividend Following Strong Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators point to surging hard-disk-drive demand, higher pricing and expanding AI workloads as factors supporting stronger fiscal second-quarter revenue, margins and earnings expectations. Zacks also upgraded WDC to a Rank #2, or “Buy.” WDC Fiscal Q2 Forecast Improves
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s CEO said AI storage demand could grow about 25% annually, while the company expects expanding margins. However, investors remain focused on whether demand and pricing can remain durable through the storage cycle. Western Digital CEO Discusses AI Storage Demand
• Negative Sentiment: WDC is declining after hours in sympathy with Seagate, whose results apparently raised concerns about storage-sector demand, supply or future cyclicality. The read-through is weighing on Western Digital despite its own positive earnings outlook. Western Digital Stock Slides After Hours
• Negative Sentiment: Argus lowered its price target from $600 to $500, citing valuation or sector risks, although it maintained a “Buy” rating. Other commentary also flags potential oversupply and cyclicality following WDC’s substantial multi-year rally.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 in the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $380.88 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $426.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $413.96. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $121.85 and a 52 week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 20.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

About Western Digital

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.