Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by First Western Trust Bank

First Western Trust Bank lowered its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,937 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,086 shares during the period. Woodward makes up 0.6% of First Western Trust Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. First Western Trust Bank owned about 0.11% of Woodward worth $12,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

• Woodward: Delivering Critical Components for the Aerospace Boom

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Woodward by 189.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WWD. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $283.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

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Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This trade represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total transaction of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 73,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. The trade was a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 0.9%

Woodward stock opened at $248.45 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $246.59 and its 200-day moving average is $207.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.04. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $267.45. The company has a market cap of $14.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.31, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.72%.

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.

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