AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership Invests $234,000 in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

AFG Fiduciary Services Limited Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,275 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at $99,000,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Woodward by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Woodward by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,309,000 after purchasing an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 17,072.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after buying an additional 76,313 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha Wave Global LP grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 26.0% during the third quarter. Alpha Wave Global LP now owns 311,253 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,383,000 after buying an additional 64,212 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $192.47 on Wednesday. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $133.56 and a one year high of $201.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $176.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.94.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 earnings per share. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.64%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.11.

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.