Corebridge Financial Inc. Cuts Holdings in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,562 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,938 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Woodward worth $11,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

• Woodward: Delivering Critical Components for the Aerospace Boom

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in Woodward by 1.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 1.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the technology company's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock opened at $252.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.30. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $146.82 and a one year high of $267.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $250.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $212.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04.

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Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Woodward from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $281.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $253.11.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Woodward

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,296 shares of company stock worth $5,544,333 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

About Woodward

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.

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