Courier Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 1,200 Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Courier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,200 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at $120,220,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 44,162.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 472,284 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $86,187,000 after purchasing an additional 471,217 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth about $31,187,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $2.89 on Friday, reaching $232.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 486,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,549. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $13.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.87, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $197.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.11. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $236.87.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total transaction of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at $15,623,585.64. The trade was a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,050 shares of company stock worth $13,267,077. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Woodward from $232.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.13.

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.