Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 44.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 185,092 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 57,284 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Woodward worth $30,803,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Woodward by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Woodward by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock worth $173,141,000 after acquiring an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Woodward by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,166,000 after purchasing an additional 36,911 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Woodward by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $205.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "reduce" rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.98 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $180.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.91. The company has a market cap of $10.04 billion, a PE ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward's payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

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.