Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Acquired by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 44.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 185,092 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 57,284 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $30,803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Woodward by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $173,141,000 after buying an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Woodward stock opened at $167.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.45 and a 12-month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share 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 $0.28 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 18.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 in the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Woodward from $205.00 to $172.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased 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, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.25.

Woodward Company 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.