20,274 Shares in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Bought by Wakefield Asset Management LLLP

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 20,274 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,374,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Woodward by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company's stock worth $415,309,000 after acquiring an additional 110,569 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 4.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company's stock worth $219,321,000 after purchasing an additional 59,290 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Woodward by 135.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. bought a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $99,000,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 502,067 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,554,000 after buying an additional 19,868 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of WWD stock traded down $5.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $178.34. 349,319 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 447,500. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $143.03 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The stock's 50 day moving average is $183.65 and its 200-day moving average is $173.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.87, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. 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 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Woodward 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.