Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 400 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 12.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,744 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Woodward by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $899,431,000 after purchasing an additional 77,654 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,380,384 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,711,000 after purchasing an additional 34,946 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 13.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 634,698 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,679,000 after acquiring an additional 74,734 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 541,496 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $94,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Woodward by 94.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 434,385 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $75,735,000 after acquiring an additional 210,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $170.85 on Wednesday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $128.52 and a 52-week high of $188.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $167.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.92. The stock has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 28.57, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders 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 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.72%.

Insider Transactions at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,044,929.15. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In 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 company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.67.

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.