Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,790 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 2,412 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $464,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $434,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Woodward by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 42,130 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,011,000 after purchasing an additional 6,134 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,317,000. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $468,000. Finally, Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 751,541 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,700 shares of company stock worth $9,998,300 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WWD stock traded down $1.13 on Friday, hitting $216.83. The stock had a trading volume of 590,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,040. The company's 50 day moving average price is $188.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.55. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $220.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.75.

Woodward Company 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.