Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Position Lessened by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 0.3% during the first quarter, holding approximately 5.62 million shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Several hedge funds have adjusted their positions in Woodward, with significant activity including ING Groep NV acquiring a new position worth $1.11 million and PNC Financial Services increasing its stake by 7.2%.
• Woodward reported earnings per share of $1.76 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 8% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,619,044 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 15,729 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.47% of Woodward worth $1,025,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $236,004,000 after purchasing an additional 38,774 shares during the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its stake in Woodward by 130.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC increased its stake in Woodward by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $203,989,000 after purchasing an additional 168,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Woodward by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 628,502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $104,595,000 after purchasing an additional 82,792 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research raised Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $0.72 on Friday, hitting $244.61. The company had a trading volume of 251,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,687. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $267.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $248.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $884.98 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, 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 quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Woodward

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.