Senator Investment Group LP Invests $22.36 Million in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Senator Investment Group LP bought a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 122,500 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,355,000. Senator Investment Group LP owned about 0.21% of Woodward as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 191.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 2,314.3% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Woodward by 189.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock opened at $247.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $267.45. The company has a market cap of $14.81 billion, a PE ratio of 39.09, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50-day moving average is $248.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.44.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The company had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total value of $565,582.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. This represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,296 shares of company stock worth $7,639,133 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.