Swiss National Bank Cuts Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 115,100 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Woodward worth $21,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $245.31. The company had a trading volume of 660,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,160. The company's 50-day moving average is $248.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.84. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $267.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The company has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.