Equitable Holdings Inc. Invests $970,000 in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,281 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $970,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 550.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 91 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 82.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Woodward during the second quarter worth $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $450.00 to $430.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research cut shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $419.00.

Insider Activity at Woodward

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 value of $5,233,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total value of $767,163.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. This represents a 40.97% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $341.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $233.31 and a fifty-two week high of $450.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.75.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

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