Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 234,400 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,600 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.39% of Woodward worth $39,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WWD. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Woodward by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Woodward by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,850 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25% 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 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD traded up $4.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.61. 456,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,542. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $185.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.18. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.98 and a 52-week high of $216.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. Woodward's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WWD. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.88.

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.