Two Sigma Investments LP Acquires 47,510 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,214 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 47,510 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.35% of Woodward worth $34,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,700 shares of company stock worth $7,851,450 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.75.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $4.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $210.61. The company had a trading volume of 456,037 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,542. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $145.98 and a 1-year high of $216.95. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $185.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.21. The stock has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

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.