Nebula Research & Development LLC Takes $1.79 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 10,765 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,792,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock worth $173,141,000 after acquiring an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Woodward by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of WWD traded up $3.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $184.83. The stock had a trading volume of 1,051,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,422. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.57. 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 (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % 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. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $192.75.

Woodward Company 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.