Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 485,068 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,999 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.82% of Woodward worth $88,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted 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 buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 90.1% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 711 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.25.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock traded up $6.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $251.56. The stock had a trading volume of 529,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,730. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $255.69. The company has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $227.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,944,998.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.