Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $1.11 Million Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 12.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,063 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $234.61 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $236.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $192.57 and a 200-day moving average of $185.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $232.00 target price on Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 64,739 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,886,305.73. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,050 shares of company stock worth $13,267,077. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.