First Western Trust Bank Grows Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

First Western Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 359.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,023 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 54,787 shares during the quarter. Woodward comprises about 0.5% of First Western Trust Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. First Western Trust Bank owned 0.12% of Woodward worth $12,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in Woodward during the 1st quarter worth $1,301,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,911,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its stake in Woodward by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 26,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 3,759 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 114.4% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,971,000 after acquiring an additional 9,092 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 17,072.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after purchasing an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Five 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $169.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.38. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.31 and a fifty-two week high of $188.35. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.09 and a 200-day moving average of $170.89.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,044,929.15. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 27,913 shares of company stock valued at $4,907,304 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.