Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,178 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,870 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Woodward were worth $8,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Woodward by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 47,151 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,040,000 after buying an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 6.1% in the third quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 66,510 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,407,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 2.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 22,618 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 165.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after acquiring an additional 5,363 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Up 1.6 %

WWD opened at $181.17 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $170.98. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $131.12 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 11.22%. The firm had revenue of $855.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WWD. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price target (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 target price (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $187.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total value of $1,776,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,044,929.15. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 47,913 shares of company stock valued at $8,502,604 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.12% of the company’s stock.

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.