Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,202 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 64,563 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Woodward worth $23,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WWD. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 94.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $75,735,000 after purchasing an additional 210,746 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 12.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $207,359,000 after buying an additional 147,856 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $899,431,000 after buying an additional 77,654 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 17,072.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 76,760 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,165,000 after acquiring an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,679,000 after acquiring an additional 74,734 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $175.71 on Thursday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.31 and a 1-year high of $188.35. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WWD shares. StockNews.com lowered Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.67.

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.