Trexquant Investment LP Has $15.48 Million Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 68.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 113,712 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,127 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.19% of Woodward worth $15,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 28,230 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,843,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 491 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,975,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 2.0% in the third quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 5,393 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,680,049.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 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 approximately $2,914,324.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,700 shares of company stock valued at $8,036,686. Insiders own 1.12% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $1.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $181.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 379,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,389. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $105.18 and a 1-year high of $181.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.95.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $807.04 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. Woodward's revenue was up 16.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WWD. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Woodward from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $148.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.13.

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.