<div id="readability-page-1"><p>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 &amp; 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.</p><ul><li>Woodward: Delivering Critical Components for the Aerospace Boom</li></ul><p>Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth &amp; Trust FSB boosted its position in  Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth &amp; 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 &amp; Titak Inc. boosted its position in  Woodward by 2,314.3% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd &amp; 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. </p><h2>Wall Street Analyst Weigh In</h2><p>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 &#34;buy&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;buy&#34; 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 &#34;buy&#34; rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research raised shares of Woodward to a &#34;hold&#34; 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 &#34;equal weight&#34; 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 &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $249.63.</p><ul><li>Is It Time to Lock in Profits on These 3 Overbought Stocks?</li></ul><p><b>Get Our Latest Analysis on WWD</b></p><h2>Insider Transactions at Woodward</h2><p>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. </p><h2>Woodward Trading Down 0.9%</h2><p>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. </p><p>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. </p><h2>Woodward Announces Dividend</h2><p>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%. </p><h2>About Woodward</h2> (Free Report)<p>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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Woodward</li><li>Unveiling The Power Of VWAP: A Key Indicator For Traders</li><li>Airbnb Beats Earnings, But the Growth Story Is Losing Altitude</li><li>A Deeper Look at Bid-Ask Spreads</li><li>Netflix Bulls vs. Bears: Who Wins This Pullback?</li><li>What is the Nikkei 225 index?    </li><li>Viasat: Why a Wall of Cash Has Shorts Running for Cover</li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WWD?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9V1dE?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5BU0RBUSZTeW1ib2w9V1dE"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Woodward Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Woodward, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Woodward wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Woodward currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>First Western Trust Bank reduced its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 3.0% in Q1, now owning 67,937 shares valued at approximately $12.4 million. Other investors, including MassMutual and Mitsubishi UFJ, increased their positions significantly. Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Woodward, with price targets ranging from $200 to $299. Recent insider sales include EVP Randall Hobbs and CEO Charles P. Blankenship, who sold shares worth over $1 million. Woodward's stock is currently trading at $248.45, down 0.9%.</p>

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