Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 123.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,567 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,188 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.8% during the third 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 increased its holdings in Woodward by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $219,321,000 after buying an additional 59,290 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. acquired a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $99,000,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after buying an additional 3,099 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.
Woodward Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $4.89 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $188.19. The company had a trading volume of 706,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,575. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $186.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.31. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64.
Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target 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 boosted their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.38.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WWD
About Woodward
(
Free Report)
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.
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