Fiduciary Alliance LLC Acquires Shares of 7,659 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,659 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. City Center Advisors LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. City Center Advisors LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the technology company's stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,547,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.11.

Woodward Stock Up 2.2 %

WWD traded up $4.00 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $184.10. 336,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 451,043. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.56 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $175.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $810.39 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business's revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,008,669.50. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Woodward

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.