Artemis Investment Management LLP Decreases Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management cut its stake in Western Digital by 82.0% in Q4, selling 690,153 shares and leaving it with 151,957 shares worth about $26.18 million.
• Western Digital beat Q3 expectations (EPS $2.72 vs. $2.39; revenue $3.34B), raised Q4 guidance to an EPS range of 3.100–3.400, and has drawn multiple analyst price-target increases amid strong AI/data-center demand (consensus rating: Moderate Buy, target ~$389.74).
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.15 (from $0.13) while insiders have been net sellers (92,711 shares sold in the past 90 days), and institutional investors hold roughly 92.51% of the stock.

Artemis Investment Management LLP lowered its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 82.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 151,957 shares of the data storage provider's stock after selling 690,153 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in Western Digital were worth $26,178,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,282,393 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,196,484,000 after buying an additional 243,177 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $791,317,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,805,463 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,884,000 after buying an additional 384,103 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,804,907 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $456,737,000 after buying an additional 402,981 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 4,923.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 3,407,042 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $409,049,000 after buying an additional 3,339,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $432.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.48 billion, a PE ratio of 43.33, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $314.33 and its 200 day moving average is $233.19. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $43.60 and a 52 week high of $446.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 49.24%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This is an increase from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital's payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WDC. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Western Digital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald set a $660.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Argus set a $300.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $389.74.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: WDC beat expectations: Q3 EPS $2.72 and revenue $3.34B, both above consensus, and management raised FY‑Q4 guidance (EPS and revenue) — this underpins the bullish case for continued AI/cloud storage demand. Earnings & press materials
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades/target raises followed the quarter — Citi hiked its target to $500 (Buy) citing stronger visibility into AI-driven HDD demand, lifting investor optimism. Citi raises target to $500
• Positive Sentiment: Other firms (Rosenblatt, TD Cowen and others) boosted targets or reiterated Buy as AI/data‑center demand drives margin expansion and share‑buyback capacity; the company also announced a quarterly dividend increase, signalling confidence in cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry signal — peers (SanDisk/Seagate) also reported strong results and demand commentary, confirming sector‑wide AI storage tailwinds but raising questions about how much of that is already priced in. Reuters: sector demand
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction was mixed — the stock slipped after the beat as some traders engaged in “buy the rumor, sell the news” profit‑taking following an enormous YTD run; elevated expectations mean strong results may not produce further immediate upside. Yahoo: stock falls despite beat
• Negative Sentiment: Not all analyst moves are bullish: UBS raised its target to $375 but kept a Neutral rating — that level implies downside from current prices and provides a near‑term anchor for traders focused on risk management. Benzinga: UBS target

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 363 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $377.09, for a total value of $136,883.67. Following the transaction, the insider owned 120,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,259,473.07. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total transaction of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at $159,288,807.84. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,711 shares of company stock worth $24,300,404. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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