Trexquant Investment LP Raises Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 106.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,504 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,359 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.12% of Woodward worth $11,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 165.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Woodward by 14.8% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 30,574 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,244,000 after acquiring an additional 3,932 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Woodward by 10.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,496 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Woodward by 15.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 17,989 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after purchasing an additional 2,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $209,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Trading Up 1.6 %

Woodward stock opened at $190.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $185.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.14. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.45 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. The company has a market cap of $11.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total transaction of $1,864,900.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,886,305.73. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WWD. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $197.38.

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.