Royal Bank of Canada Sells 12,052 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 17.3%, selling 12,052 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 57,761 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• Insider selling activity included Director John D. Cohn selling 1,750 shares for $427,560 and EVP Randall Hobbs selling 846 shares for $211,500, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Woodward's quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, with a reported EPS of $1.76 and revenue up 8.0% year-over-year, leading to various upgrades and ratings from investment analysts.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,761 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,052 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.10% of Woodward worth $10,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ WWD traded down $2.95 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $237.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 440,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,832. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $249.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.54. The company has a market cap of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of several research reports. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

About Woodward

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.