Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New $8.44 Million Investment in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 50,708 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $8,439,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned about 0.09% of Woodward at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its position in Woodward by 51.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,236,000 after purchasing an additional 14,326 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth $2,547,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 11.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the technology company's stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total transaction of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,700 shares of company stock valued at $5,751,700. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD traded up $2.92 during trading on Thursday, reaching $190.49. The stock had a trading volume of 656,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,358. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $178.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.64. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.59%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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