BNP Paribas Financial Markets Cuts Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 36.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,708 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,843 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.05% of Woodward worth $5,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Woodward by 79.3% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 4,177.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 385 shares of the technology company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total transaction of $1,002,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,914,324.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $176.70. 204,942 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,903. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.25 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 11.09%. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $807.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WWD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.38.

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.