Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 722,392 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 722,392 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $120,220,000. Norges Bank owned 1.22% of Woodward at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.38.

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Woodward Trading Up 1.6 %

WWD traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $190.14. 336,428 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 462,267. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $185.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.14. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.45 and a 52 week high of $201.64. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 earned $1.45 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.