Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,008 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,512 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Woodward were worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.38.

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Woodward Stock Up 1.4 %

WWD stock traded up $2.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $187.39. 473,571 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 443,805. The company has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.36. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.45 and a 12 month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.