Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Acquired by AdvisorNet Financial Inc

AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 23.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,639 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Woodward were worth $286,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 63,881.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 60,782 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,274,000 after buying an additional 60,687 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,314,000. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $924,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Woodward by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,259 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $988,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.22.

Woodward Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ WWD traded up $1.89 on Thursday, reaching $156.30. The company had a trading volume of 152,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,485. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.03 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $173.46 and a 200-day moving average of $161.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.37.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a net margin of 11.47% and a return on equity of 17.16%. The business had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

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.