Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 71.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,322 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 16,768 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Woodward worth $7,358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.41, for a total value of $1,142,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 67,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,346,639.49. This trade represents a 6.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $1.16 during trading on Monday, hitting $253.50. 514,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,391. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day moving average is $222.33 and its 200-day moving average is $195.06. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $253.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Woodward Company 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.