Ground Swell Capital LLC Invests $263,000 in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Key Points

• Ground Swell Capital LLC has acquired 1,439 shares of Woodward, Inc. valued at approximately $263,000 during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own 81.18% of Woodward's stock, and notable firms like Farallon Capital Management and Naya Capital Management have significantly increased their positions recently.
• Woodward has received multiple upgrades in ratings from analysts, with a current average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,439 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Woodward by 1.6% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward during the first quarter worth approximately $25,667,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Woodward by 5.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,092,257 shares of the technology company's stock worth $199,326,000 after buying an additional 51,873 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Woodward by 35.5% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,816 shares of the technology company's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at $3,353,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total value of $1,079,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 73,117 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,711,033 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.31. 660,475 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,160. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $267.45. The company has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a PE ratio of 38.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $248.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.84.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WWD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $249.63.

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.