Northern Trust Corp Raises Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 628,502 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 82,792 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.06% of Woodward worth $104,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Woodward by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total value of $536,256.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,700 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD traded down $1.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.21. 328,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 463,402. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $178.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $178.54.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Woodward 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.