Amundi Lowers Stake in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Amundi cut its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 5.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,559 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,227 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Woodward were worth $3,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Woodward by 189.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth about $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,096 shares of company stock worth $759,060. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD opened at $238.77 on Thursday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $267.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $250.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.66.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.