Covea Finance Buys 4,700 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Covea Finance increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 21.2%, acquiring an additional 4,700 shares and bringing its total holdings to 26,900 shares worth approximately $6.59 million.
• Woodward reported $1.76 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.62, with quarterly revenue rising by 8% to $915.45 million.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, scheduled for payment on December 4th, which reflects an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Covea Finance boosted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,900 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance's holdings in Woodward were worth $6,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Up 1.0%

WWD stock opened at $240.56 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $248.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $267.45. The firm has a market cap of $14.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.27.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Woodward'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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WWD. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.11.

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.

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