Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 113.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WWD. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after buying an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company's stock worth $236,004,000 after buying an additional 38,774 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $216,771,000 after buying an additional 23,735 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock worth $203,989,000 after buying an additional 168,035 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock worth $173,141,000 after buying an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.61. 456,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,542. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $216.95. The company's 50-day moving average is $185.41 and its 200-day moving average is $182.21.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.88.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,700 shares of company stock worth $7,851,450 in the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company 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.