Optas LLC Buys Shares of 1,218 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Optas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,218 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Woodward by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,160 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,181,000 after acquiring an additional 13,886 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,850 shares of the technology company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 262.1% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,018 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 5,080 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 70.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Down 1.2%

Woodward stock opened at $232.06 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $13.78 billion, a PE ratio of 38.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $236.87. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $199.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $187.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,268 shares in the company, valued at $11,561,640. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,050 shares of company stock worth $13,267,077 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $232.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.

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