Woodward, Inc. $WWD Shares Bought by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 637.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,325 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,874 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Woodward were worth $840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Woodward by 1.8% in 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 buying an additional 15,572 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,555,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 711,804 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,458,000 after acquiring an additional 31,434 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 7.2% during the 2nd 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. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Down 0.5%

WWD stock opened at $317.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a PE ratio of 44.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.00. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $339.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $995.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $943.15 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.39% and a return on equity of 17.68%. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Truist Financial set a $366.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.89.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $2,105,320.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,890,303.60. This trade represents a 42.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.88, for a total transaction of $1,489,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,508,413.80. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 40,000 shares of company stock worth $11,908,210 in the last three months. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.