Nuveen Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 188,049 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,625 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Woodward worth $31,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% during 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 buying an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $120,220,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,187,000. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 1,225,750 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $203,989,000 after purchasing an additional 168,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.88.

Woodward Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $4.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $210.61. 456,037 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,542. 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 cap of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $185.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $216.95.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. Woodward's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.57, for a total transaction of $1,027,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,117 shares in the company, valued at $15,030,661.69. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,700 shares of company stock valued at $7,851,450. Insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.