Royce & Associates LP Trims Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. by 43.6% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.13% of the company, valued at $13.6 million.
• Multiple hedge funds increased their positions in Woodward, with Naya Capital Management leading with a 130.2% growth, now holding shares worth $221.1 million.
• Woodward recently announced a $0.28 quarterly dividend, a 0.44% yield, to be paid out to shareholders on September 4th.

Royce & Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 74,712 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 57,758 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.13% of Woodward worth $13,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 31.8% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $253,175,000 after purchasing an additional 367,300 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,418,123 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $236,004,000 after purchasing an additional 38,774 shares during the last quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $216,771,000 after buying an additional 23,735 shares during the period. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 15.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Terence J. Voskuil sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.03, for a total transaction of $2,310,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,142,443.35. This trade represents a 66.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,096 shares of company stock valued at $9,247,289 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $257.26. 551,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 518,761. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.62. The company has a market capitalization of $15.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $145.98 and a 12 month high of $259.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 16.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.25.

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.