Jones Financial Companies Lllp Raises Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 41.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,850 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,917 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Woodward were worth $6,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 1,766.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 627.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 160 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,890,303.60. This represents a 42.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 42,250 shares of company stock worth $12,739,855 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Woodward from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.80.

Key Headlines Impacting Woodward

Here are the key news stories impacting Woodward this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — Woodward reported $2.17 EPS vs. $1.65 expected and revenue of $996.5M vs. $901.9M; management set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.20–$8.60, which is the primary driver of the rally. Woodward Hits New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness and target increases — Brokers have raised price targets (example: a ~15.6% reported target bump to $392.93) after the results, supporting further upside. Woodward (WWD) price target increased by 15.59% to 392.93
• Positive Sentiment: Street upgrades/mentions — UBS and other coverage cite upside potential; UBS analyst noted the stock is expected to rise, adding momentum to the move. Woodward Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks recognition — Woodward was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth list, which can attract momentum and model-driven flows. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for February 5th
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market-note — Coverage and commentary highlight a fresh 52-week high and ask whether there’s more upside; that can mean both momentum buying and risk of short-term pullbacks. Woodward, Inc. (WWD) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares at about $369.62 (≈$831.6K); his remaining stake dropped ~9.4%. This is a disclosure item investors monitor but is not large enough to change the company’s fundamentals. John D. Cohn Insider Sale

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $376.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.46, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.00. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $384.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $316.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $275.82.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 14.11%.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.