Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,040,384 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,195 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.75% of Woodward worth $173,141,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $99,000,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $20,045,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,278,502 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $219,321,000 after purchasing an additional 59,290 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $182.49 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.89. The firm has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. 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.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company 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.