Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Acquires New Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation acquired 18,371 shares of Woodward, Inc., valued at approximately $3.35 million, highlighting increased institutional interest in the company.
• Insider transactions revealed notable sales, with EVP Terence J. Voskuil selling 10,000 shares for over $2.31 million, representing a significant reduction in ownership.
• Analysts projected a moderate buy rating for Woodward, with price targets raised by various firms, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 18,371 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,353,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the technology company's stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 185,092 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,803,000 after acquiring an additional 57,284 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,704 shares of the technology company's stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 25.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 10,772 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,800,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 53,548 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,911,000 after acquiring an additional 6,397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $6.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 209,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 522,606. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $247.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $14.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.30. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WWD. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $249.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 73,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. This represents a 6.40% 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 valued at $8,711,033 over the last ninety days. Company 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.