Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Raises Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 17.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 92,751 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,056 shares during the period. Woodward comprises approximately 1.3% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. owned 0.16% of Woodward worth $39,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter valued at $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Woodward by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Woodward by 684.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Woodward by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $988,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Down 1.3%

WWD stock opened at $341.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.31 and a twelve month high of $450.92. The company’s 50 day moving average is $387.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $379.75.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 21.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 14.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% 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 this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. This trade represents a 40.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Woodward Company 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.