Norges Bank Makes New $120.22 Million Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 722,392 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,220,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Woodward by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,053 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $173,141,000 after purchasing an additional 48,195 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 21,736 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,609 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 36,692 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. grew its position in Woodward by 194.7% in the 4th quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 9,416 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,567,000 after buying an additional 6,221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $182.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $144.45 and a 1 year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WWD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.