Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 59,290 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,278,502 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 59,290 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.14% of Woodward worth $219,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $415,309,000 after acquiring an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 2.6% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,711,000 after buying an additional 34,946 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,679,000 after buying an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth about $99,000,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $94,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $175.10 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.12 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average is $171.38 and its 200 day moving average is $170.88. 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 (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The business had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $810.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 price target (up from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.44.

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.