Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Shares Purchased by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lifted its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 6.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,510 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Woodward were worth $11,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Woodward by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,038 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,092 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $13,165,000 after acquiring an additional 76,313 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 16.3% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 93,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,274,000 after purchasing an additional 13,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the second quarter valued at approximately $548,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.65, for a total transaction of $1,776,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,044,929.15. The trade was a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,913 shares of company stock worth $4,907,304. 1.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock traded up $2.43 on Monday, reaching $178.48. The company had a trading volume of 44,027 shares, compared to its average volume of 422,665. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.82 and its 200 day moving average is $170.87. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.46 and a 1 year high of $188.35. The company has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.96.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $174.67.

Woodward 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.