Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Buys Shares of 730,961 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 730,961 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,721,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 300.8% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,766 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 5,078 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 25,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,300,000 after purchasing an additional 6,741 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at about $12,300,000. Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth about $2,079,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD opened at $387.74 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $403.31. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $344.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a PE ratio of 48.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Woodward announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 issued a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,974,551.50. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 39,450 shares of company stock worth $12,335,945 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.