Bridges Investment Management Inc. Has $839,000 Stock Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,040 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Woodward were worth $839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.85, for a total value of $1,818,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. This trade represents a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $188.99 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $183.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.77. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.43 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WWD. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.38.

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.