Strs Ohio Decreases Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,032 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,289 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Woodward during the second quarter worth about $28,000. KB Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the first quarter worth about $30,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WWD opened at $147.49 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $91.42 and a 1-year high of $160.79. The company has a market capitalization of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.65.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.33. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm had revenue of $786.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $750.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Woodward’s payout ratio is 21.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Woodward from $151.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Woodward from $165.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.22.

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.