Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,983 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $10,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $251,365,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 122.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $228,849,000 after acquiring an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its position in shares of Woodward by 136.2% in the 4th quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 686,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $207,452,000 after acquiring an additional 395,726 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $322,060,000 after purchasing an additional 334,333 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1,086.9% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 330,514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,524,000 after purchasing an additional 302,666 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WWD. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 target price on the stock. Susquehanna assumed coverage on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. They issued a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total value of $65,675.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,040. This trade represents a 4.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 76.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,629 shares of company stock valued at $5,570,005 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7%

WWD stock opened at $418.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.31 and a 1-year high of $450.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $379.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $364.28.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.33%.

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.