Strs Ohio Sells 7,414 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Strs Ohio cut its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 83.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,418 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,414 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Woodward were worth $358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,819 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $478,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 11.8% during the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 25,539 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,454,000 after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Inscription Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $284,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,333 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $345.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Truist Financial set a $366.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.89.

Woodward Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $317.84 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $310.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.14. The stock has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.00. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $339.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.08.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at $6,393,319.75. This trade represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $2,105,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 9,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. This represents a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,908,210. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward 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.