Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC Takes $986,000 Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Beirne Wealth Consulting Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 3,900 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $986,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.6% in the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,586 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,626 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $379.39 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $329.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $282.40. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $403.31. The firm has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.00. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The company had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.92 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 14.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director directly owned 2,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,744.70. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,303.60. The trade was a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 47,450 shares of company stock worth $14,706,235 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WWD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.80.

About Woodward

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.