111 Capital Buys Shares of 6,812 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

111 Capital purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 6,812 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,134,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $124,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $186,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 164,140 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,316,000 after acquiring an additional 26,249 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $218.47 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $182.69. 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 one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $226.92. The company has a market cap of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were 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. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,071,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at $15,623,585.64. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,851,450 over the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial set a $232.00 target price on Woodward in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.75.

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.