Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stake Boosted by Fox Run Management L.L.C.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. raised its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 194.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,416 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,221 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. State Street Corp increased its stake in Woodward by 4.8% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $219,321,000 after buying an additional 59,290 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares during the period. Finally, Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth about $99,000,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded down $4.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.19. 706,238 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,221. The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.45 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $186.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

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.