Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Sells 7,205 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its stake in Woodward by 13.7%, selling 7,205 shares in Q3 and now holds 45,474 shares (about 0.08% of the company) valued at roughly $11.49 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — 29,300 shares were sold over the last three months (≈$9.88M), including COO Thomas Cromwell's sale of 5,000 shares and Director John D. Cohn's sale of 2,250 shares.
• Woodward beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates (EPS $2.17 vs $1.65; revenue $996.45M vs $901.92M), set FY2026 guidance of 8.20–8.60 EPS, and its board authorized a $1.8 billion share repurchase while raising the quarterly dividend to $0.32.

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lowered its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,474 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,205 shares during the quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Woodward worth $11,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Woodward by 35.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 684.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company's stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 2,218.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 255 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in Woodward during the second quarter valued at about $231,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total transaction of $831,645.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 21,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,974,551.50. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,300 shares of company stock valued at $9,875,510. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ WWD opened at $386.59 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $403.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 48.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $352.32 and a 200 day moving average of $294.58.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.The company had revenue of $996.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $901.92 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. Woodward's quarterly revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward's payout ratio is 16.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $354.80.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc NASDAQ: WWD is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward's product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.

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