Creative Planning Cuts Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Creative Planning reduced its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,191 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 10,583 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Woodward were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Woodward by 743.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,452,000 after purchasing an additional 197,125 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,962,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Woodward by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,216 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,301,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Woodward by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 26,042 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,011,000 after purchasing an additional 3,759 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Down 1.7 %

WWD stock opened at $161.32 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.31 and a twelve month high of $188.35. 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 capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.03.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 16.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WWD. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.67.

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.