Bank of America Corp DE Makes New $303.70 Million Investment in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a new $303.7 million stake in Woodward during the second quarter, purchasing 713,844 shares and owning approximately 1.21% of the company. Institutional investors collectively hold 81.18% of Woodward’s shares.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Woodward carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $415.17, despite some recent downgrades to “Hold.”
• Woodward reported quarterly EPS of $2.52, beating estimates, while revenue rose 21.2% year over year to $1.11 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% yield.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 713,844 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $303,698,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 1.21% of Woodward as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 550.0% in the 2nd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 91 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the technology company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth $65,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth $68,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $404.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $388.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $415.17.

Woodward Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $318.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a PE ratio of 35.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average of $364.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $374.74. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.31 and a 1-year high of $450.92.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 19th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 19th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.24%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Shawn McLevige sold 2,150 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. The trade was a 40.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc NASDAQ: WWD designs and manufactures control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Its products help manage fuel, air, combustion, motion, actuation and electrical power in engines, turbines and other energy-conversion systems.

In aerospace, Woodward supplies systems and components for commercial aircraft, business aviation, military aircraft, helicopters and space applications. Its offerings include fuel metering and engine control systems, air-management products, actuators, electric power systems and other controls used in propulsion and aircraft subsystems.

Woodward also serves industrial customers with controls for power generation, gas and diesel engines, renewable-energy equipment, industrial turbines and other applications.

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