Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 112.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,645 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,629 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $99,000,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Woodward by 135.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after buying an additional 570,124 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Woodward by 4.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,421,483 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $415,309,000 after buying an additional 110,569 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 17,072.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after buying an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Woodward by 13.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,679,000 after buying an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,313 shares of company stock worth $10,752,072 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $189.12 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.56 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The company has a market capitalization of $11.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The business had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 16.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.11.

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.