Red Spruce Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Red Spruce Capital LLC has reduced its holdings in Woodward, Inc. by 15.9%, now owning 14,444 shares valued at approximately $3.54 million.
• Woodward's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $1.76, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking an 8% revenue increase compared to the prior year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, contributing to an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 17.72%.

Red Spruce Capital LLC lessened its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 15.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,444 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,735 shares during the period. Woodward accounts for about 1.5% of Red Spruce Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Red Spruce Capital LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $3,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 49,481 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 5.0% in 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. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Woodward by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 637,888 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $116,408,000 after buying an additional 9,386 shares during the last quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Woodward by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 593,148 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,244,000 after buying an additional 32,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Woodward by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 486,281 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $88,743,000 after buying an additional 4,432 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WWD. 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 report on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $253.11.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,096 shares of company stock valued at $759,060. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:WWD traded up $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $240.44. The stock had a trading volume of 663,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,391. The business's fifty day moving average is $249.51 and its 200 day moving average is $218.41. The company has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a PE ratio of 38.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.27. 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 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter 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, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

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.