Numerai GP LLC Purchases Shares of 20,300 Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,300 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,130,000. Woodward comprises about 0.7% of Numerai GP LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after purchasing an additional 8,307 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Woodward by 122.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $228,849,000 after buying an additional 497,722 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Woodward by 2.2% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 887,938 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $224,391,000 after buying an additional 18,821 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $201,555,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Woodward by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 771,497 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $194,965,000 after acquiring an additional 59,693 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total value of $831,645.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,974,551.50. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,625 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.80, for a total transaction of $1,010,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,340,619.20. This represents a 3.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,925 shares of company stock worth $10,203,160. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of WWD stock opened at $367.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.96. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $403.31. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $361.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $301.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

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

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

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.80.

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.