US Bancorp DE Has $5.21 Million Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 6.8% in Q1, holding 28,530 shares valued at $5.21 million following the sale of 2,093 shares.
• Woodward announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.4%, to be paid on September 4th.
• The company reported a strong earnings performance for the last quarter, exceeding expectations with an EPS of $1.76 against an estimated $1.62.

US Bancorp DE decreased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,530 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,093 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Woodward were worth $5,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% during the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 44,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock worth $86,187,000 after buying an additional 471,217 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock worth $253,175,000 after buying an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,187,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $203,989,000 after acquiring an additional 168,035 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $1.44 on Wednesday, hitting $251.70. The stock had a trading volume of 342,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 523,648. The stock has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $267.45. The business's 50 day moving average is $244.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Woodward's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.