Empowered Funds LLC Acquires Shares of 7,563 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,563 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Woodward by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after acquiring an additional 106,390 shares in the last quarter. Tribune Investment Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the second quarter worth $5,752,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the second quarter worth $2,984,684,000. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $24,436,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,145,000 after purchasing an additional 22,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.00.

Woodward Stock Down 1.0%

WWD stock opened at $336.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $378.92. The company has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.44, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.87. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $233.31 and a twelve month high of $450.92.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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. Corporate 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.