Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 4,839 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 48.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,809 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,839 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Woodward were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 79.3% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut shares of Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.13.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $178.14 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.70. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $105.18 and a twelve month high of $179.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.48%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $677,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,244,976. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.