Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 51,048 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 334 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.09% of Woodward worth $8,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the second quarter worth $37,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the first quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 4,177.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Five investment 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $167.62 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $162.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.37. The firm has a market cap 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.03 and a 52-week high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $853.29 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. Woodward’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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