Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 6.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 176,483 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,351 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned about 0.30% of Woodward worth $32,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Woodward by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,503 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 27,449 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,568,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,692 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,600,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in Woodward by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,053 shares of the technology company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Woodward by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,471 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,410,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $259.29. 760,614 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 568,367. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $267.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $242.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.35. The stock has a market cap of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.03, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $242.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.