AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 146,016 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 30.0%, holding approximately 0.57% of the company after selling 146,016 shares in the first quarter.
• Woodward reported earnings of $1.76 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing an 8.0% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 17.72%.

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 339,927 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 146,016 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.57% of Woodward worth $61,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Appian Way Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth about $1,468,000. Caption Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $566,000. Twin Tree Management LP boosted its stake in Woodward by 387.2% during the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 12,061 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,201,000 after purchasing an additional 16,261 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 27.4% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the technology company's stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP bought a new position in Woodward during the first quarter valued at about $13,055,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Northcoast Research upgraded Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of WWD traded down $3.61 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $237.33. 696,819 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 520,573. The business has a fifty day moving average of $250.85 and a 200-day moving average of $216.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.23 billion, a PE ratio of 37.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.27. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.82 and a 1-year high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.