Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 15,623 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. by 15.8% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.19% of the company's shares valued at about $20.93 million.
• Woodward reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.76, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.62, and the company's revenue was up 8.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with an upcoming payment date of September 4th and a current yield of 0.4%.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 114,680 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,623 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.19% of Woodward worth $20,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $294,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at about $733,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 142.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $259.87. 329,041 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 606,403. The company's 50 day moving average price is $242.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $205.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $267.45. The firm has a market cap of $15.43 billion, a PE ratio of 41.12, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total value of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at $15,791,809.66. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,711,033. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.