Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stock Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Western Digital stake by 5.1% in the third quarter, adding 17,684 shares to bring its holdings to 366,125 shares, valued at about $166.4 million.
• Institutional investors own 92.51% of WDC shares; several firms established new positions, while company insiders sold a combined 25,436 shares worth about $11.3 million over 90 days.
• Western Digital beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, with sales up 55.5% year over year, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.175 per share. Analysts’ consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average target price of $591.04.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 366,125 shares of the data storage provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,684 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.10% of Western Digital worth $166,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Storage and memory stocks recovered as investors reassessed fears that election-related policy changes would derail AI investment. Strategists say the AI buildout is still expected to continue, though potentially on a longer timeline. Western Digital Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Bets AI Storage Demand Outlasts Election Rout
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental commentary highlights stronger pricing, demand for higher-capacity hard drives, and operational efficiencies as drivers of Western Digital’s gross-margin expansion. Zacks Research also upgraded the stock from “hold” to “strong-buy.” Western Digital's Gross Margin Momentum: How Long Can It Last?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly supportive, with a reported consensus Buy rating and average price target near $589. However, one valuation estimate was recently reduced from $650.67 to $613.38, reflecting a reassessment of HDD strength, spending plans, and future supply. Nasdaq Suffers Worst AI Panic in Years as Nvidia, SanDisk, and Western Digital Sink Western Digital Stock Sees Fair Value Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that proposed federal oversight, permitting restrictions, or caps on new data centers could slow AI infrastructure spending—an important source of expected storage demand. That concern drove a sharp selloff Thursday before the reported rebound. Why Are Western Digital Shares Falling on AI Data Center Policy Risk?

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. 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 transaction 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 represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $263.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 2.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $406.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $418.97. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $132.43 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The company's revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WDC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $591.04.

Western Digital Profile

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar.

Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.

Western Digital serves customers around the world.

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