Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $1.52 Million in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,157 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,524,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,045,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Woodward by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after buying an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock worth $5,215,444 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial boosted 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 increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Trading Down 10.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $157.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $184.93 and a 200 day moving average of $177.08. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.35, 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 posted its quarterly earnings results 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 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

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.