Rhumbline Advisers Decreases Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Rhumbline Advisers lessened its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,023 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,575 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.29% of Woodward worth $28,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $2,547,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $2,448,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 12.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,153 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,003,000 after acquiring an additional 6,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $1,698,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.38.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $1,795,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,066,684.94. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,400 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,768 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $5.25 on Friday, reaching $184.74. 477,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,829. The company has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $136.25 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The firm's 50-day moving average is $181.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

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.