Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $1.32 Million Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,916 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,317,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $468,000. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. grew its stake in Woodward by 130.2% during the fourth quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $221,133,000 after acquiring an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 91.3% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 182,770 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $30,417,000 after acquiring an additional 87,246 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Woodward by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 413,220 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,769,000 after acquiring an additional 22,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 113.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,965 shares in the company, valued at $4,015,216.80. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,700 shares of company stock worth $5,751,700 over the last 90 days. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Woodward Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $209.79 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.45 and a 200 day moving average of $180.63. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.98 and a 52 week high of $210.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.62 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WWD shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price target on shares of Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

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.