Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Holdings Lessened by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 9.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,002 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,045 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Woodward were worth $3,650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 acquiring 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 first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 94.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 64,050 shares of company stock worth $13,267,077. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $5.47 on Monday, hitting $237.53. 58,677 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 473,644. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $238.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The firm's 50-day moving average is $199.05 and its 200 day moving average is $187.54.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $232.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 30th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $222.13.

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.