Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,381 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,153 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,381 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $2,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $120,220,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 44,162.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,187,000 after buying an additional 471,217 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $253,175,000 after buying an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,187,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of WWD stock traded down $2.49 on Tuesday, hitting $251.66. The stock had a trading volume of 172,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,333. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $259.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $232.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $200.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 $15,346,639.49. The trade was a 6.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.25.

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.