Fmr LLC Has $136 Million Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

FMR LLC reduced its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 14.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 817,180 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 143,563 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 1.38% of Woodward worth $135,995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WWD. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % 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 owned by insiders.

Woodward Stock Down 0.2 %

Woodward stock traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $169.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,406. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. 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's 50 day moving average is $180.32 and its 200 day moving average is $176.91.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business posted $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.75.

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.