Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,772 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $1,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Woodward by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $2.59 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $167.81. 412,525 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 468,887. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $178.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.75.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward 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.