Bank of Montreal Can Buys 6,397 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,548 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,397 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.09% of Woodward worth $8,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WWD. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $465,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after purchasing an additional 570,124 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth about $2,547,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $1,275,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $167.64 on Monday. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64. The company has a market cap of $9.95 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.03.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 18.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $172.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. This represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,900 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,444 over the last quarter. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.