Balentine LLC Purchases Shares of 1,202 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Balentine LLC bought a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,202 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rodgers Brothers Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 5,110 shares of the technology company's stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.25.

Woodward Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $258.43. 634,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,975. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.75, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.95. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $259.40. The company's 50-day moving average is $232.95 and its 200-day moving average is $200.04.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.