Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,424 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $2,547,000. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,448,000. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 6,917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $185.39 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.45 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.65. The company has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 business posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued 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 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective 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 target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average 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.