Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 1,904 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. by 11.4%, now owning 14,731 shares valued at approximately $2.69 million.
• A significant shift in institutional investment occurred, with Naya Capital Management increasing its stake by 130.2% and GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an astonishing 44,162.8%.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for Woodward, with Deutsche Bank raising the target to $291.00 and other firms also rating the stock as a buy, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,731 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,904 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $2,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,796 shares of company stock worth $3,207,383. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $0.82 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $246.00. 498,747 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,708. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $214.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WWD. Northcoast Research upgraded Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

Woodward 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.