UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Increases Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 165,286 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned 0.28% of Woodward worth $30,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Woodward by 189.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Woodward by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $239.88 on Tuesday. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a PE ratio of 37.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.25.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’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 research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.11.

About Woodward

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.