Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires 1,784 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• The Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 4.2% during the second quarter, now holding 44,771 shares valued at approximately $10.97 million.
• Wall Street analysts are largely optimistic, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11, noting several upgrades and price increases from investment firms.
• Woodward, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, indicating a 0.4% yield, with payment scheduled for December 4th to stockholders of record by November 20th.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,771 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned approximately 0.08% of Woodward worth $10,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covea Finance raised its position in shares of Woodward by 21.2% in the second quarter. Covea Finance now owns 26,900 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,593,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter valued at about $405,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA acquired a new stake in Woodward during the second quarter worth approximately $257,000. Gries Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the second quarter worth approximately $237,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 220.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,287 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Northcoast Research upgraded Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $249.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The company has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.41, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $247.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.56.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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