Nuveen LLC Purchases New Stake in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 140,649 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $25,667,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.24% of Woodward at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,296 shares of company stock worth $7,639,133 in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.25. 591,416 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 524,097. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.96, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $248.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.68. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $267.45.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.