Balentine LLC Has $579,000 Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Balentine LLC lessened its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 43.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,617 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,229 shares during the period. Balentine LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,036 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Woodward by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $841,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 4,313 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 13,417 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,056,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Woodward by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $124,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $404.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.00.

Woodward Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $420.93 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $233.31 and a 12-month high of $450.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $379.19 and its 200-day moving average is $363.43.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $65,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,295,040. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total value of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. The trade was a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,629 shares of company stock valued at $5,570,005 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.