Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 1,609 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT trimmed its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 276,581 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,609 shares during the quarter. Woodward accounts for about 1.0% of Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in Woodward were worth $69,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position in Woodward by 148.4% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 457 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,596 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 728 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its position in Woodward by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 1,418 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter worth $393,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Melius Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.80.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,508,413.80. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was 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 $959,744.70. The trade was a 67.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 44,450 shares of company stock worth $13,817,245. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $394.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.54 billion, a PE ratio of 49.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $340.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $288.24. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $403.31.

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

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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.12%.

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

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.