Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,500 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 38.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,886 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 8,500 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward during the second quarter worth about $201,555,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 639,139 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $156,646,000 after buying an additional 154,071 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,208,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,617,000. Finally, Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $11,778,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $326.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.27. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $329.55.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $943.15 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 17.68%. Woodward’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $366.00 price objective on Woodward in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Melius upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $305.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total value of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

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.