AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 485,943 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 5,021 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.82% of Woodward worth $80,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WWD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 135.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 313.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 174,476 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,037,000 after purchasing an additional 132,287 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $21,967,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $194.50. 81,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 465,255. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $178.70 and a 200-day moving average of $178.41. 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 $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,700. 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.