MML Investors Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 18.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,029 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Woodward were worth $2,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 4.0% in 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 last quarter. Summit Financial LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Woodward

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

Woodward Stock Up 1.8 %

WWD traded up $3.43 on Friday, hitting $193.92. 568,569 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 466,442. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $178.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $145.98 and a twelve month high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $838.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's payout ratio is 18.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on Woodward and gave the stock 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.00.

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.