GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Shares in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 318 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,746 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 0.5 %

WWD opened at $168.83 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.18 and a twelve month high of $169.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.52, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.31.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.50% and a net margin of 11.09%. The business had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.04 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.48%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total transaction of $208,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at $2,850,934.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total value of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total value of $208,290.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,850,934.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,200 shares of company stock worth $7,242,916. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $168.75.

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.