Ballentine Partners LLC Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,289 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,735,000 after purchasing an additional 210,746 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 0.9% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,164 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $18,862,000 after buying an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,880 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,944,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 180,389 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,456,000 after acquiring an additional 1,187 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $167.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $165.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.91. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.03 and a 52-week high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $197.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.11.

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.