Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,509 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,151 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.41% of Woodward worth $44,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.14. The stock had a trading volume of 744,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 490,575. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's 50 day moving average is $227.06 and its 200 day moving average is $197.05. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $255.69.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Woodward's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock worth $9,247,289 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.25.

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.