Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 39.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,160 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,886 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.08% of Woodward worth $8,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7 %

WWD stock traded down $1.30 on Thursday, hitting $189.99. 310,518 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 467,849. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $136.25 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $181.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 16.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,400 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,768. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.