Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $182.00 to $200.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Woodward from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $148.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $163.89.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $11.29 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $162.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,309,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,683. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $148.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.67. Woodward has a 52-week low of $95.60 and a 52-week high of $169.99. The company has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Woodward will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,216 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 5,407 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $336,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 227,063 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,995,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.4% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,400 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,682,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Woodward by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% 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.