Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) had its price target upped by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $182.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on WWD. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $163.89.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ WWD opened at $162.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.36. Woodward has a 52-week low of $95.60 and a 52-week high of $169.99.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm’s revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total transaction of $208,290.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,934.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,040. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total value of $208,290.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,850,934.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 36.5% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,216 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 5,407 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust bought a new position in Woodward in the first quarter worth $336,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 2.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 227,063 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,995,000 after purchasing an additional 5,275 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Woodward by 2.4% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,682,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 34.7% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.