California Public Employees Retirement System Has $17.32 Million Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 104,060 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,094 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.18% of Woodward worth $17,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Woodward by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $219,321,000 after buying an additional 59,290 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $173,141,000 after buying an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Woodward by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

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Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD traded up $17.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $174.89. The stock had a trading volume of 867,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 466,782. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.45 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.29, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $182.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.01.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 EPS. Research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 Woodward 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group increased 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $172.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $193.25.

Woodward Company Profile

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.