Snyder Capital Management L P Sells 8,225 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Snyder Capital Management L P decreased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 506,719 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,225 shares during the period. Woodward accounts for 2.4% of Snyder Capital Management L P’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Snyder Capital Management L P owned approximately 0.85% of Woodward worth $128,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,555,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at $184,721,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at $73,406,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 639,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $156,646,000 after purchasing an additional 154,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,617,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. 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 data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.80.

Woodward Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $384.99 on Thursday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.82 and a 1-year high of $403.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $350.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 48.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total transaction of $831,645.00. Following the sale, the director owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at $7,974,551.50. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,450 shares of company stock worth $7,241,225. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.