Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $14.87 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 4.7%, now holding 81,504 shares, valued at approximately $14.87 million.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $1.76, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $915.45 million, indicating an 8.0% year-over-year growth.
• Woodward's stock has received multiple upgrades from analysts, with a current consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.11.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,504 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,984 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.14% of Woodward worth $14,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Woodward by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,057 shares of the technology company's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Woodward by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,522 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Woodward by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $818,000 after acquiring an additional 942 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $294,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $832,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD traded down $2.95 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $237.49. 440,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 494,832. The company has a market cap of $14.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.27. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $249.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WWD shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.11.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total transaction of $427,560.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.