Choreo LLC Cuts Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Choreo LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,257 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 1,906 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $3,713,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 26.5% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 1,825 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,597,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 16.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,354 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,005 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sendero Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 14.7% during the third quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,994 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,275.35. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,313 shares of company stock valued at $9,007,072. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $195.22. The stock had a trading volume of 693,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,105. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.82 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. The firm's fifty day moving average is $179.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.12 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given 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 is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.75%.

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.