Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Given New $294.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Truist Financial from $267.00 to $294.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $232.25.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $245.14. The stock had a trading volume of 744,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,432. The company has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 39.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $196.87. Woodward has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $255.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $294,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 3,580 shares of the technology company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,137,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,687,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.