1,218 Shares in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Acquired by Optas LLC

Optas LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,218 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD stock traded up $2.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $238.99. 671,836 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,821. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $240.79. The company has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $188.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 54,050 shares of company stock worth $11,422,077 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.