Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stake Increased by Jones Financial Companies Lllp

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 32.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,862 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

WWD stock opened at $176.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.54, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.21. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.13 and a fifty-two week 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.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.