Nebula Research & Development LLC Makes New Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,765 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,792,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Woodward by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Woodward Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:WWD traded up $5.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $192.91. 253,580 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 465,801. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $178.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.64. 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 $11.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.