Swiss National Bank Sells 1,700 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,300 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Woodward were worth $19,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Woodward by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $184.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $185.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.36. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.45 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upped 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

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.