Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Purchased by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 2.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,953 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 20.8% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 6.2% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Rodgers Brothers Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc. now owns 5,110 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $850,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Woodward by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,053 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $115,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,561,640. The trade was a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,250 shares of company stock worth $9,035,789 over the last three months. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $243.41 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $244.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $210.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.68. The company has a market capitalization of $14.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.86% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

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.