Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Lowers Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,140 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,491 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of Woodward worth $5,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $221,133,000 after buying an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $120,220,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $31,187,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 168,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $232.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WWD traded down $1.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $216.83. 590,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,040. The company has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a PE ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $188.13 and a 200 day moving average of $183.55. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $220.05.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. Woodward's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,700 shares of company stock valued at $9,998,300. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company 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.