First Western Trust Bank Has $2.66 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

First Western Trust Bank cut its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,236 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 712 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Woodward were worth $2,657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 12.3% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $84,157,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 6.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 559,964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,302,000 after acquiring an additional 35,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Woodward by 3.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $161.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.03 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $166.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $197.00 to $158.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.