Wakefield Asset Management LLLP Invests $3.37 Million in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,274 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,374,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 17,072.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,165,000 after buying an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 100.7% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,869 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Woodward by 4.7% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,933 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Woodward by 68.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,304 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Woodward by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 29,376 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,038,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Up 0.4 %

WWD opened at $184.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.96 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $136.25 and a one year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $182.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.29.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays upped their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,400 shares of company stock worth $4,044,868 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.