Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $3.35 Million Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 56.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,117 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $3,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $465,000. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,137,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $234.61. 346,796 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 470,288. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.51. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $236.87.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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 $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price objective on Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated 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 now directly owns 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,050 shares of company stock worth $13,267,077. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.