Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,780 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 79.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.38.

Woodward Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $183.13 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $118.64 and a 12-month high of $188.35. The company has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total value of $1,002,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,914,324.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.