New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Takes $2.14 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,841 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,137,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in Woodward by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,053 shares of the technology company's stock worth $508,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Woodward by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock worth $173,141,000 after acquiring an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 21,736 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,609 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,692 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $6,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.38.

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Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 1.6 %

WWD traded up $2.95 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $190.09. The company had a trading volume of 247,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 472,788. The company has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.84, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $144.45 and a one year high of $201.64. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $185.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.05.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

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.