Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $47.62 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 133,044 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,106 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $47,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at about $2,039,000. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in Woodward by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 2,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 684.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 5,043 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Woodward by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,030 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Woodward by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 506 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $427.00 to $429.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Woodward in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $450.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Woodward in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.50.

Woodward Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $392.88 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $233.31 and a 52 week high of $450.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $387.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a return on equity of 20.12% and a net margin of 12.85%.The company’s revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.69 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 15.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Karrie M. Bem sold 280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $372.66, for a total value of $104,344.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,297 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,320.02. This represents a 6.12% 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, Director Daniel G. Korte sold 14,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $356.05, for a total value of $5,233,935.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,578,725.70. This represents a 76.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,629 shares of company stock worth $5,570,005. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

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.