Woodward, Inc. $WWD is Earnest Partners LLC's 8th Largest Position

Key Points

• Earnest Partners increased its stake in Woodward by 0.6% in Q3 to 1,403,551 shares, making WWD its 8th-largest holding; that position equals about 2.34% of Woodward and was valued at roughly $354.7 million.
• Woodward beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $2.17 vs. $1.65 consensus and revenue of $996.5M (up 28.8% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of $8.20–$8.60 EPS.
• The board authorized a $1.8 billion share buyback (up to 11.6% of shares) and raised the quarterly dividend to $0.32, while insiders sold about 31,925 shares worth $11.69 million over the last quarter.

Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,403,551 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,307 shares during the quarter. Woodward accounts for approximately 1.5% of Earnest Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Earnest Partners LLC owned 2.34% of Woodward worth $354,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 300.8% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,766 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 5,078 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 35.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,688 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,300,000 after purchasing an additional 6,741 shares during the last quarter. Syntax Research Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $1,011,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $12,300,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $2,079,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total value of $831,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,575 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,974,551.50. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 1,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.37, for a total transaction of $711,084.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,189,625.15. This represents a 37.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,925 shares of company stock worth $11,692,560. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 1.4%

WWD stock opened at $356.80 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $360.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $403.31. The firm has a market cap of $21.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.94, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.96.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $996.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.92 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Melius Research upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $354.80.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc NASDAQ: WWD is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward's product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.