Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $582,000 Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,190 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 85,488 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,227,000 after purchasing an additional 5,033 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 185,092 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,803,000 after acquiring an additional 57,284 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Woodward by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,704 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 165,132 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,481,000 after buying an additional 20,320 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $253.14 on Wednesday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $267.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $244.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Woodward 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.