EULAV Asset Management Boosts Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

EULAV Asset Management grew its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 107,600 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management owned about 0.18% of Woodward worth $19,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Woodward by 191.2% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first 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 in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $5.73 during trading on Thursday, hitting $246.30. The company had a trading volume of 636,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,690. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $195.83. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $145.98 and a fifty-two week high of $255.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.41, for a total transaction of $1,142,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 67,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,346,639.49. This represents a 6.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Truist Financial set a $267.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $228.88.

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.