Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 18,899 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,634,773 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 18,899 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Woodward worth $937,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents 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. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Woodward Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $183.29 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $186.06 and its 200-day moving average is $176.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $144.45 and a one year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS 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 last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change 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 18.76%.

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.