1,114 Shares in Woodward, Inc. $WWD Purchased by Wedmont Private Capital

Key Points

• Wedmont Private Capital acquired 1,114 shares of Woodward, Inc. valued at approximately $281,000, marking a new investment position in the company.
• GAMMA Investing LLC significantly increased its Woodward holdings by over 44,162%, owning now 472,284 shares worth approximately $86.2 million.
• Woodward's quarterly earnings report showed an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.76, surpassing analysts' expectations, while setting guidance for FY 2025 at 6.500-6.750 EPS.

Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,114 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 44,162.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,187,000 after acquiring an additional 471,217 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the first quarter worth about $25,667,000. Senator Investment Group LP bought a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter worth approximately $22,355,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 164.5% in the 1st quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 178,139 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,503,000 after purchasing an additional 110,799 shares during the period. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at approximately $13,055,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $238.11 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.82 and a 1-year high of $267.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $248.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.88.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company'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, research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

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.

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