Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 624,342 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 6,308 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.05% of Woodward worth $103,910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,302,237 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $216,771,000 after acquiring an additional 23,735 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,040,384 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $173,141,000 after buying an additional 48,195 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $120,220,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Woodward by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 649,961 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $108,166,000 after acquiring an additional 36,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Woodward by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 503,977 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $83,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, 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 note on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $195.00.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $3.14 on Friday, hitting $193.63. 113,980 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 464,794. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $201.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $178.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 32.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. 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 (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward's payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

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.