Permanens Capital L.P. Raises Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Permanens Capital L.P. increased its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,415 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,544 shares during the period. Permanens Capital L.P.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 189.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the first quarter worth $38,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Zacks Research downgraded Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $242.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $250.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.27.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.