Woodward, Inc. $WWD Shares Bought by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. increased its Woodward stake by 12.5% in the first quarter, adding 100,465 shares to bring its total to 904,404 shares valued at about $323.7 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 81.18% of the company.
• Woodward reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.27 versus $2.10 expected and revenue of $1.09 billion versus $1.01 billion estimated. Revenue rose 23.4% year over year, and the company reaffirmed FY2026 EPS guidance of 9.15 to 9.45.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record on August 20. Analysts remain generally positive, with an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.50.

Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 904,404 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,465 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned 1.52% of Woodward worth $323,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WWD. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its holdings in Woodward by 1,800.0% during the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 209 shares of the technology company's stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Down 0.6%

WWD stock opened at $404.59 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $24.11 billion, a PE ratio of 48.45, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.86. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.31 and a 1 year high of $450.92. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $389.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $373.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 12.85%.The business's revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $450.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $395.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total transaction of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,320.02. This represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total value of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,629 shares of company stock valued at $5,570,005. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

About Woodward

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.

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