Inspire Investing LLC Sells 219 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Inspire Investing LLC lessened its stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,926 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WWD. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter worth about $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $69,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $187.95 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.56 and a 12-month high of $201.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $177.74 and a 200-day moving average of $170.31.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. Woodward had a net margin of 11.22% and a return on equity of 17.13%. The company had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $810.39 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.50, for a total value of $1,745,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,008,669.50. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total transaction of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, October 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.11.

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.