Ieq Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 665.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,357 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,568 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $3,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total value of $1,795,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,066,684.94. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,400 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,768 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WWD. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Woodward Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of WWD opened at $184.74 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $136.25 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $181.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.63. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Woodward’s payout ratio 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.