Argentarii LLC Grows Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Argentarii LLC lifted its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 105.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,937 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,046 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $1,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.88.

Woodward Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $3.69 on Friday, hitting $252.51. The stock had a trading volume of 296,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,266. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $253.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $220.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $194.29. The stock has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.41, for a total value of $1,142,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,346,639.49. This trade represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,827 shares in the company, valued at $11,958,480. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,250 shares of company stock worth $9,035,789 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.