Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,796 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $465,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 70.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 262.1% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,018 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 5,080 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Woodward by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,850 shares of the technology company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Woodward by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,160 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,181,000 after acquiring an additional 13,886 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $4.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $184.54. 256,150 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 446,078. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.77. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a PE ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. 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 fifty-two week low of $142.71 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays increased their price target 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $197.38.

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.