UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 0.7% during Q1, owning 165,286 shares valued at $30.16 million.
• Several institutional investors, including MassMutual and Mitsubishi UFJ, significantly boosted their holdings in Woodward, with some increasing their stake by over 2,300% during the same period.
• Woodward reported Q2 earnings of $1.76 EPS, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28, reflecting a 0.5% yield.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 165,286 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.28% of Woodward worth $30,163,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,396,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Woodward by 6.2% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD traded down $1.86 on Friday, reaching $238.11. 1,312,353 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 492,512. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $14.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $248.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.33.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company 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 business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.