Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Raises Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 30.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 170,508 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 39,392 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Woodward worth $28,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Woodward by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 0.9 %

WWD traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $167.86. 87,567 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,151. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.45 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $182.52 and a 200 day moving average of $176.99.

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Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $172.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.25.

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.