Vanguard Group Inc. Has $937.74 Million Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,634,773 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 18,899 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.49% of Woodward worth $937,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,153 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,003,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 165.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Woodward by 3.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,151 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $8,040,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 14.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,574 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,244,000 after purchasing an additional 3,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.31. 29,025 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,091. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.45 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $185.82 and a 200 day moving average of $177.05. The company has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $197.38.

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.