Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 771,497 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,693 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 1.29% of Woodward worth $194,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 1,766.7% during the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total value of $1,489,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Eileen P. Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 2,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 31,925 shares of company stock valued at $11,692,560 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $361.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.56, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $359.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.14. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $403.31.

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

Woodward announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.80.

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.