Nuveen LLC Invests $25.67 Million in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 140,649 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $25,667,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.24% of Woodward as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,704 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,340 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 1,959 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 542 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $429,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $416,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD traded up $3.1310 on Friday, reaching $250.9710. 53,258 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,479. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.33. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 39.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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, research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at $15,791,809.66. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,296 shares of company stock worth $6,611,283 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

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.