Handelsbanken Fonder AB Takes $6.97 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Handelsbanken Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 23,069 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,974,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 36.1% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 347 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 107.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $367.40, for a total transaction of $1,837,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,194,759.60. This trade represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total transaction of $104,344.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,320.02. This trade represents a 6.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,404 shares of company stock valued at $7,741,205. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 1.2%

WWD stock opened at $351.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $204.10 and a one year high of $407.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $369.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.73.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.