Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 9,625 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 188,049 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,625 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Woodward worth $31,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WWD. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at about $465,000. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $294,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 105.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,712,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $2,137,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.38, for a total value of $1,071,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 72,878 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,623,585.64. This trade represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,851,450. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WWD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $232.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Up 3.7%

Shares of WWD stock traded up $7.86 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $218.47. 422,951 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,375. The business has a 50 day moving average of $186.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $218.52. The company has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is 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.