Woodward, Inc. $WWD Shares Purchased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 217,107 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,030 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.36% of Woodward worth $54,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Woodward by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $931,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 1,850 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.37, for a total transaction of $711,084.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,095 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,625.15. The trade was a 37.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $378.15, for a total transaction of $1,966,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,300 shares of company stock valued at $9,875,510 in the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $373.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.96. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $403.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $353.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $996.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.92 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. Woodward’s revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. Woodward’s payout ratio is 16.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WWD shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.80.

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.