Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Bought by Creative Planning

Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,774 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 913 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Woodward were worth $2,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WWD. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 214.0% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 20,654 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,812,000 after purchasing an additional 14,077 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 743.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,452,000 after acquiring an additional 197,125 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth about $3,962,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Woodward by 36.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Woodward by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 524,683 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,425,000 after acquiring an additional 143,410 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

Woodward Trading Up 0.8 %

Woodward stock opened at $167.62 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.03 and a 12-month high of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 29.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Woodward 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.