Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 133,167 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,737 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $33,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Woodward by 1.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 869,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $213,012,000 after purchasing an additional 15,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,555,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 711,804 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $174,458,000 after purchasing an additional 31,434 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 639,139 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $156,646,000 after acquiring an additional 154,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 7.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 407,856 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $99,961,000 after acquiring an additional 27,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $2,105,320.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 9,610 shares in the company, valued at $2,890,303.60. The trade was a 42.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 3,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.33, for a total value of $888,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,575 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,393,319.75. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,250 shares of company stock valued at $12,739,855. 0.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Melius Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $342.80.

Woodward Stock Up 0.9%

WWD opened at $376.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $316.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $275.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $384.66.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted 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 company 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 business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

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.