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

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 113.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 1,335 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $832,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth $294,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth $11,551,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 942 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.57, for a total value of $1,027,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,030,661.69. This represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WWD shares. UBS Group upped 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD traded down $0.56 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.92. 59,747 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,790. The business's 50 day moving average price is $186.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.94 billion, a PE ratio of 36.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $226.92.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. Woodward's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

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.