Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 25.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,176 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 67,177 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.33% of Woodward worth $32,814,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $99,000,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT purchased a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $20,045,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Woodward by 4.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $177.93 on Wednesday. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $144.13 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 stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.71.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.38.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

About Woodward

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.