SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 20,315 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) by 726.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,111 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,315 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Woodward were worth $3,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Woodward by 101.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Woodward

In other Woodward news, COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,093,275.35. This trade represents a 46.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John D. Cohn sold 2,400 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.57, for a total value of $430,968.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,764,325.91. The trade was a 10.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,752,072 in the last ninety days. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $187.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $177.74 and a 200-day moving average of $170.29. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.56 and a 1-year high of $201.64.

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

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Woodward from $197.00 to $193.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 price objective (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.