Two Sigma Investments LP Grows Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

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

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $465,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,717 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in Woodward by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,137,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock worth $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 72,878 shares in the company, valued at $15,623,585.64. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,700 shares of company stock worth $7,851,450 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $4.61 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $210.61. 456,037 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 464,128. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $221.36. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $185.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.11.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.88.

Woodward 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.