Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Lowers Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lessened its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 452 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $82,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 50.0% during the first quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $242.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average of $250.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.79. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.72%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Zacks Research cut Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.