Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 64,563 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 138,202 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 64,563 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Woodward worth $23,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WWD. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $226.00 target price (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.44.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $171.68. 220,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,450. The company has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.38. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $172.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $170.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $131.12 and a one year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.98 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

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.