Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,586 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,849,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 79.3% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 199 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total transaction of $1,540,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,836 shares in the company, valued at $677,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 51,200 shares of company stock valued at $7,242,916. Insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Woodward Price Performance

NASDAQ:WWD traded down $2.54 on Friday, hitting $146.53. The company had a trading volume of 578,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,448. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $145.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.84. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.42 and a 52 week high of $160.79.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The technology company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $786.73 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.13 million. Woodward had a net margin of 9.50% and a return on equity of 15.26%. The firm's revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Woodward from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $153.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Woodward from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $148.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. 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, Woodward currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.89.

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.