Van ECK Associates Corp Has $2.02 Million Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 48.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,809 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Woodward were worth $2,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth approximately $4,911,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,721,250 shares of the technology company's stock worth $710,923,000 after buying an additional 59,884 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 6.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 998,396 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $124,061,000 after buying an additional 61,216 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Woodward by 12.0% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 381,273 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $47,377,000 after acquiring an additional 40,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 95.3% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 13,059 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,621,000 after acquiring an additional 6,374 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Woodward news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total value of $1,002,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,914,324.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Woodward news, Director John D. Cohn sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.86, for a total value of $208,290.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,850,934.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total value of $1,002,060.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,914,324.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 57,200 shares of company stock valued at $8,244,976. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WWD traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $179.24. The company had a trading volume of 253,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,657. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $105.18 and a 52-week high of $180.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 2.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $152.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.70. The firm has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.31.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $835.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WWD shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.13.

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.