SG Americas Securities LLC Has $5.64 Million Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 487.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,663 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 15,487 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $5,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its stake in Woodward by 1,766.7% in the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc acquired a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Melius Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.40, for a total transaction of $1,837,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,194,759.60. This represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,250 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.62, for a total transaction of $831,645.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,974,551.50. This represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,925 shares of company stock valued at $10,203,160 over the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Woodward Stock Up 4.8%

WWD stock opened at $357.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $403.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $310.62. The firm has a market cap of $21.34 billion, a PE ratio of 45.08, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.96.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The firm had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $901.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The business’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 16.12%.

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.