Caption Management LLC Purchases Shares of 3,100 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Caption Management LLC has made a new investment in Woodward, Inc. by purchasing 3,100 shares valued at approximately $566,000.
• Woodward's stock has recently received multiple upgrades from analysts, with Deutsche Bank raising its rating to "buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.
• The company reported an earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Caption Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,100 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $566,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Woodward by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 628,502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $104,595,000 after buying an additional 82,792 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Woodward by 17.1% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,951 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,320,000 after buying an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Woodward by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,815 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,627,000 after buying an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Woodward by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 4,136 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $688,000 after buying an additional 965 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Woodward Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WWD stock traded down $1.47 on Wednesday, reaching $244.53. 456,403 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,221. The stock has a market cap of $14.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $251.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.86. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.82 and a 1-year high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The firm 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 firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is 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.