Amundi Sells 3,114 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Amundi reduced its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,786 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 3,114 shares during the quarter. Amundi’s holdings in Woodward were worth $4,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 24,784 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,125,000 after acquiring an additional 2,166 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $451,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,187,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,687,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Woodward by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,936 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $180.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.45 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $185.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.24, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.