Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 94,198 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 4,833 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.16% of Woodward worth $12,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. CWM LLC raised its position in Woodward by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Woodward by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the technology company's stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" 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 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.89.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock traded up $3.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $165.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 778,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 399,252. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.18 and a fifty-two week high of $169.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $148.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.65.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 11.09%. Woodward's revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $677,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 90 days, insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,242,916. 1.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.