Castleark Management LLC Purchases Shares of 2,720 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,720 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,984,684,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $251,365,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the second quarter worth $231,958,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 122.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $228,849,000 after purchasing an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at $184,322,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. 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. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.00.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,428.36. The trade was a 40.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $345.91 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $391.06 and a 200 day moving average of $380.31. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.31 and a 1 year high of $450.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.88.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The technology company reported $2.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.08. Woodward had a return on equity of 21.89% and a net margin of 13.17%.The business had revenue of $1.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.2% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 14.24%.

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.