Palisade Capital Management LP Reduces Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Palisade Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,348 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,792 shares during the period. Palisade Capital Management LP owned 0.27% of Woodward worth $28,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Woodward by 71.2% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 40,322 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,358,000 after purchasing an additional 16,768 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,153,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 11.0% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,739 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter valued at approximately $733,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 price target on Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.88.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,958,480. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,250 shares of company stock worth $9,035,789. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $3.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $252.51. 296,102 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,266. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $220.89 and a 200 day moving average of $194.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $253.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.95.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

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.