Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,302,237 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.19% of Woodward worth $216,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 94.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $197.38.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Down 10.1 %

Woodward stock opened at $157.29 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.35, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. 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 fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.17.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 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.