Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 87,147 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,076,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Woodward as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $24,436,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,984,684,000. Tribune Investment Group LP bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,752,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 169,174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,145,000 after acquiring an additional 22,555 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WWD. Susquehanna began coverage on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. They set a “positive” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Woodward from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $419.00.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Shawn M. Mclevige sold 2,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.82, for a total transaction of $767,163.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,428.36. The trade was a 40.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $341.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $387.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $379.75. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $233.31 and a 52 week high of $450.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.88.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.08. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue was up 21.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.76 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.300-9.500 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 14.24%.

Woodward 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.