AdvisorShares Investments LLC Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,790 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $464,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $2,547,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $1,275,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ:WWD traded up $3.43 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $193.92. 568,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,442. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $201.64. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $178.46 and a 200 day moving average of $178.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. This trade represents a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company'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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700 over the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.00.

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.