Kennedy Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.56 Million Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 9,349 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,556,000.

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

Woodward Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WWD traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $169.17. 429,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 468,309. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $179.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.75.

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.