Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,057 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 12,838 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.17% of Woodward worth $16,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth 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. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Down 0.6 %

WWD traded down $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $185.39. 1,487,297 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 449,097. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.45 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $185.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.65.

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Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 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 company earned $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.