Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $27.95 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. $WWD

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 16.0%, owning approximately 0.26% of the company valued at $27.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Woodward reported a net margin of 11.32% and earnings per share of $1.76 for the most recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting an 8.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.28 set to be paid on September 4th, with a 0.5% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 17.72%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 153,150 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,150 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.26% of Woodward worth $27,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during 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 buying an additional 367,300 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $236,004,000 after acquiring an additional 38,774 shares during the period. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. lifted its holdings in Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company's stock worth $221,133,000 after buying an additional 751,541 shares during the period. Duquesne Family Office LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Woodward by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,092,257 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $199,326,000 after buying an additional 51,873 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Down 0.0%

Woodward stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $245.31. The stock had a trading volume of 660,475 shares, compared to its average volume of 574,480. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $248.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.00. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.82 and a twelve month high of $267.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm has a market cap of $14.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.81, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total value of $2,310,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,945 shares in the company, valued at $1,142,443.35. The trade was a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.63.

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.