Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Makes New Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 120,446 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,045,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT owned approximately 0.20% of Woodward as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Woodward by 3.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,790 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WWD stock opened at $189.99 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.25 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $181.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.28.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WWD shares. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total transaction of $1,818,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,400 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,768. Company 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.