Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires Shares of 1,586 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,586 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WWD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 36.1% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 347 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $12,300,000. Callan Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $878,000. Finally, Syntax Research Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,011,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Woodward

Here are the key news stories impacting Woodward this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised guidance — Woodward reported $2.17 EPS vs. $1.65 expected and revenue of $996.5M vs. $901.9M; management set FY2026 EPS guidance of $8.20–$8.60, which is the primary driver of the rally. Woodward Hits New 1-Year High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness and target increases — Brokers have raised price targets (example: a ~15.6% reported target bump to $392.93) after the results, supporting further upside. Woodward (WWD) price target increased by 15.59% to 392.93
• Positive Sentiment: Street upgrades/mentions — UBS and other coverage cite upside potential; UBS analyst noted the stock is expected to rise, adding momentum to the move. Woodward Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks recognition — Woodward was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) growth list, which can attract momentum and model-driven flows. Best Growth Stocks to Buy for February 5th
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/market-note — Coverage and commentary highlight a fresh 52-week high and ask whether there’s more upside; that can mean both momentum buying and risk of short-term pullbacks. Woodward, Inc. (WWD) Hits Fresh High: Is There Still Room to Run?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale — Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares at about $369.62 (≈$831.6K); his remaining stake dropped ~9.4%. This is a disclosure item investors monitor but is not large enough to change the company’s fundamentals. John D. Cohn Insider Sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.80.

Woodward Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $376.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 47.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $316.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.82. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.82 and a 1-year high of $384.66.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 19th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 14.11%.

Woodward declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total value of $831,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,974,551.50. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,250 shares of company stock worth $12,739,855. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Company 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.