Trust Point Inc. Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Trust Point Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,776 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $197.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,313 shares of company stock valued at $7,230,572. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $193.09. 420,004 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 492,308. The firm has a market cap of $11.46 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's fifty day moving average is $180.22 and its 200 day moving average is $170.92. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.82 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.76%.

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.