Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 22,750 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,754 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 22,750 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Woodward worth $13,852,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,911,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,721,250 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $710,923,000 after acquiring an additional 59,884 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 998,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $124,061,000 after acquiring an additional 61,216 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Woodward by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 381,273 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $47,377,000 after acquiring an additional 40,957 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 95.3% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,059 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Woodward from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Woodward Trading Up 1.3 %

WWD traded up $1.92 on Tuesday, hitting $150.16. The company had a trading volume of 317,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,072. The firm has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.36. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.42 and a 1 year high of $160.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $146.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $786.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.13 million. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.10%.

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.