Capital Fund Management S.A. Acquires 8,254 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Capital Fund Management S.A. increased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 65.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,780 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,254 shares during the quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A.'s holdings in Woodward were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,547,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,275,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 105.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $169.17. The company had a trading volume of 429,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 468,309. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.91.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. 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%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.