Bridges Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,535 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Bridges Investment Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 35.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,785 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,535 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the first quarter valued at $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 35.5% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 684.3% during the first 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. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 7.0% during the second 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. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 11.9% during the second 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.40, for a total value of $1,837,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,854 shares in the company, valued at $24,194,759.60. This trade represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total transaction of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,601,320.02. The trade was a 6.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,554 shares of company stock valued at $3,183,170 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $350.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.92, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $367.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $346.08. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $227.00 and a twelve month high of $407.00.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The company’s revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.69 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

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.