Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Acquired by Sei Investments Co.

Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 13.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 74,734 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 1.06% of Woodward worth $110,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $84,157,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 210,746 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $207,359,000 after buying an additional 147,856 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $899,431,000 after buying an additional 77,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 878.6% during the fourth quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 62,033 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,445,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $168.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.03 and a 1-year high of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.37.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.29 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WWD. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $197.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.11.

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.