Bank of Nova Scotia Invests $2.91 Million in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 17,482 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,909,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $193.75.

Woodward Trading Down 0.2 %

WWD traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.17. 429,055 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,406. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $180.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.91. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 over the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.