Handelsbanken Fonder AB Takes $3.59 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 19,647 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $3,585,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Woodward by 191.2% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $267.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $222.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 500 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $115,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,561,640. This trade represents a 0.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 64,050 shares of company stock valued at $13,267,077 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of WWD traded up $1.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $236.57. The company had a trading volume of 459,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,544. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $201.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $238.54. The stock has a market cap of $14.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

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.