Citigroup Inc. Cuts Stake in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 3.5%, selling 1,895 shares and retaining 52,111 shares, worth approximately $9.51 million.
• Woodward recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding expectations and showing an 8.0% revenue increase year-over-year.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share on September 4th, demonstrating a **17.72% dividend payout ratio**.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 52,111 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,895 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.09% of Woodward worth $9,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Woodward by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,704 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 54.1% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 3,497 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Woodward by 313.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 174,476 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,037,000 after purchasing an additional 132,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 42,949 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,148,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,296 shares of company stock valued at $6,611,283 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Northcoast Research upgraded Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Up 0.6%

WWD stock traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $247.84. The stock had a trading volume of 417,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 580,868. The firm has a market cap of $14.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $249.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.33. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $267.45. 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 (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Woodward Company 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.