Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock Holdings Cut by Alpha Wave Global LP

Alpha Wave Global LP decreased its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 66.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,726 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 205,527 shares during the period. Woodward accounts for 8.1% of Alpha Wave Global LP's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Alpha Wave Global LP owned 0.18% of Woodward worth $17,595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Woodward by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents 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 valued at $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD traded up $5.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.12. 179,088 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,767. The company has a market capitalization of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.00, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.75.

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.