Amalgamated Bank Buys 212 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,090 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank owned about 0.07% of Woodward worth $5,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,721,250 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $710,923,000 after buying an additional 59,884 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,062,665 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $132,047,000 after purchasing an additional 62,897 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 998,396 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $124,061,000 after purchasing an additional 61,216 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 496,844 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $61,738,000 after buying an additional 1,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 61.9% in the third quarter. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP now owns 490,042 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,893,000 after acquiring an additional 187,300 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WWD shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Woodward from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 1st. Four 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, Woodward has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.13.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $173.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.31. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $105.18 and a fifty-two week high of $173.99.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The technology company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.34. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company had revenue of $835.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $807.04 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.48%.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Christopher Fawzy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $1,540,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $677,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 38,700 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.98, for a total transaction of $5,494,626.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,833 shares in the company, valued at $1,680,049.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 57,200 shares of company stock worth $8,244,976. 1.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.