Woodward, Inc. $WWD Shares Purchased by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 103.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 250,014 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 126,963 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.42% of Woodward worth $89,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inceptionr LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter worth about $446,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Woodward by 143.1% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 42,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,355,000 after buying an additional 25,254 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 904,404 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $323,705,000 after buying an additional 100,465 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Woodward by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 8,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,935,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JSF Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $419.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.31 and a fifty-two week high of $450.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $392.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $375.37. The stock has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.86.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.69 EPS. Woodward’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued 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 is 15.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Woodward in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial boosted their target price 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $395.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.