Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $2.10 Million Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,027 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 2.3% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 22,074 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 180,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,456,000 after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 2.2% in the second quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 29,641 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Woodward by 7.7% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,699 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Woodward by 17.8% during the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 75,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,133,000 after acquiring an additional 11,370 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $165.09 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $165.44 and a 200-day moving average of $165.61. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.03 and a 1-year high of $188.35.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.16% and a net margin of 11.47%. The firm had revenue of $847.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $197.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.11.

Woodward 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.