FIL Ltd Buys 100,958 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

FIL Ltd increased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 458,886 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,958 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned about 0.77% of Woodward worth $76,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $465,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 135.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,547,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $1,275,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 105.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group upped 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.63.

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Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.25. The stock had a trading volume of 66,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,586. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $144.45 and a one year high of $201.64. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $181.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.