Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Given New $232.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $216.00 to $232.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Up 0.5 %

Woodward stock traded up $0.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $195.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 686,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,896. Woodward has a 52-week low of $134.82 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $11.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm's 50 day moving average is $179.63 and its 200 day moving average is $170.85.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's payout ratio is 16.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $1,385,803.69. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,015,921.43. The trade was a 40.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,313 shares of company stock valued at $9,007,072 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.