Transform Wealth LLC Decreases Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Transform Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 33.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,486 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 758 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,157,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 743.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,452,000 after acquiring an additional 197,125 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 147,856 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Woodward by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 524,683 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $71,425,000 after purchasing an additional 143,410 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $899,431,000 after purchasing an additional 77,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $156.24 on Tuesday. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $119.03 and a one year high of $188.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $174.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.37. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $853.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.22.

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.