AlphaQuest LLC Has $579,000 Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in Woodward, Inc. by 67.7%, selling 6,644 shares and now holding only 3,172 shares valued at $579,000.
• Woodward reported earnings of $1.76 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates and achieved quarterly revenue of $915.45 million, an increase of 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5%, payable on September 4th to investors of record on August 21st.

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 67.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,172 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,644 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $416,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 14,029 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,346.8% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 37,779 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,308,000 after purchasing an additional 36,235 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $8,439,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,296 shares of company stock worth $4,464,433. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $249.30. 392,766 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 496,244. The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $213.32. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $267.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market cap of $14.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio 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.