KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 800 Shares of Woodward, Inc. $WWD

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,200 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Woodward were worth $2,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WWD. Newport Trust Company LLC increased its position in Woodward by 2.3% during the first quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC now owns 2,193,238 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $400,244,000 after acquiring an additional 49,481 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Woodward by 5.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,092,257 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $199,326,000 after acquiring an additional 51,873 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Woodward by 1.5% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 637,888 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $116,408,000 after acquiring an additional 9,386 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP increased its position in Woodward by 5.7% during the first quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 593,148 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $108,244,000 after acquiring an additional 32,225 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Woodward by 0.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 486,281 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $88,743,000 after acquiring an additional 4,432 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on WWD. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.67.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Stock Down 1.8%

WWD stock opened at $247.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.82 and a 12 month high of $267.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $246.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.52.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 17.72%.

Woodward Company Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.