The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,154 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,024 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 1,154 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Woodward worth $7,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WWD. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth about $465,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,275,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 10,286 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $2,137,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WWD. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’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 value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700 in the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $196.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $178.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.54. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $145.98 and a one year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.62 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.09%.

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.