Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 11,133 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 450,655 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 11,133 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.76% of Woodward worth $161,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 131.1% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 282 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $101,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total value of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,320.02. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This trade represents a 76.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on WWD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.50.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD opened at $392.88 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $387.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $371.90. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.31 and a 1 year high of $450.92. The stock has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.17. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

About Woodward

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.