Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC Trims Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC decreased its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,860 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,958 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Woodward worth $12,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WWD. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,236,000 after acquiring an additional 14,326 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 9,897 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,547,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 11.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the technology company's stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $7.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.88. 196,891 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,844. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $178.86 and a 200-day moving average of $176.94.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS 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 firm earned $1.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WWD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.