Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 71,728 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. sold 71,728 shares of Woodward, Inc., reducing its holdings by 68.6% in the 1st quarter, now owning 32,858 shares worth approximately $5.996 million.
• Insiders at Woodward also sold significant amounts of stock recently, with EVP Terence J. Voskuil selling 10,000 shares and CEO Charles P. Blankenship selling 2,450 shares, showcasing a trend in selling among executives.
• Woodward's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $1.76, exceeding analyst estimates, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28, reflecting a yield of 0.5%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 68.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,858 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 71,728 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Woodward worth $5,996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Newport Trust Company LLC raised its position in Woodward by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 2,193,238 shares of the technology company's stock worth $400,244,000 after buying an additional 49,481 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC grew its position in Woodward by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock worth $203,989,000 after purchasing an additional 168,035 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Woodward by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,092,257 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $199,326,000 after buying an additional 51,873 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ WWD traded down $1.74 on Friday, reaching $242.85. 642,283 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 445,182. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 38.43, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $250.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.97.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.