BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $5.24 Million Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,574 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,932 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.05% of Woodward worth $5,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 2.4% in the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 3.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,268 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Woodward by 2.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,624 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $793,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their price target on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $226.00 price objective (up from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.44.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $1,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,066,684.94. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,502,604. 1.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 1.6 %

WWD traded up $2.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $184.01. The stock had a trading volume of 216,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 433,665. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.12 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $169.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $170.99.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

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.