Avior Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Avior Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,636 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 399 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 101.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth about $69,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,008,669.50. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock opened at $187.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.56 and a 52-week high of $201.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $177.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.31. The company has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.39 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 16.64%.

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.