Bank of Montreal Can Purchases 6,397 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 53,548 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,397 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.09% of Woodward worth $8,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD traded down $0.41 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $169.17. The company had a trading volume of 429,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,406. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $180.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.91. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, research 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $193.75.

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.