Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 55,360 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,552,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WWD. Accel Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Woodward by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 963 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 1.5% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,059 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 3.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 5.4% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.5% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 3,327 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 4,434 shares in the company, valued at $1,578,725.70. The trade was a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 40.97% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $341.81 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $233.31 and a 1-year high of $450.92. The company has a 50-day moving average of $387.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $379.75. The company has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.65, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.24%.

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.