Jump Financial LLC Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,577 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 23,735 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock worth $173,141,000 after purchasing an additional 48,195 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock worth $108,166,000 after purchasing an additional 36,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded up $2.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $187.57. 603,772 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 466,600. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.42, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $178.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $177.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

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.