Willdan Group, Inc. $WLDN Shares Sold by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in Willdan Group, Inc. by 43.1%, selling 186,418 shares and holding a total of 245,717 shares, representing approximately 1.69% ownership valued at $10 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Willdan Group, with Wells Fargo & Company expanding its stake by 2,934% during the fourth quarter.
• Research firms have raised their price targets for Willdan Group, with Roth Capital now setting a target of $103.00 and Wedbush increasing theirs to $120.00, both maintaining favorable ratings.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN - Free Report) by 43.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 245,717 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 186,418 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 1.69% of Willdan Group worth $10,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 1st quarter worth $10,313,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 2,934.0% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 175,334 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,678,000 after acquiring an additional 169,555 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 136.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 208,059 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,925,000 after acquiring an additional 119,888 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Willdan Group during the 1st quarter worth $4,687,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willdan Group by 77.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 158,401 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,468,000 after acquiring an additional 69,047 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company's stock.

Willdan Group Price Performance

Willdan Group stock traded down $4.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $105.21. The stock had a trading volume of 428,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 217,460. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02 and a beta of 1.31. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $30.43 and a 1-year high of $121.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willdan Group

In related news, Director Steven A. Cohen sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.34, for a total transaction of $290,850.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,123,612.66. This trade represents a 8.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Wanda Kay Reder sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.46, for a total value of $101,541.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,676 shares in the company, valued at $1,275,354.96. This trade represents a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,877 shares of company stock valued at $3,433,087. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Willdan Group from $85.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up from $62.00) on shares of Willdan Group in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $111.50.

Willdan Group Company Profile

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.