Ieq Capital LLC Has $3.32 Million Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 14.9%, now holding 18,177 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in Woodward, with MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust boosting holdings by 191.2% during the same period.
• Woodward reported earnings of $1.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, and announced a $0.28 quarterly dividend for investors.

Ieq Capital LLC decreased its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,177 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,180 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $3,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $7.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $237.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 211,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,208. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $250.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $267.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.27.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Woodward's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is 17.72%.

About Woodward

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.