Trust Point Inc. Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Trust Point Inc. acquired a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,776 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $194.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.82 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.40. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $179.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.85.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,313 shares of company stock valued at $9,007,072. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.