Bayesian Capital Management LP Purchases New Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 12,400 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,911,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,157,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 743.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 223,639 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,452,000 after acquiring an additional 197,125 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,345,438 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $207,359,000 after acquiring an additional 147,856 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Woodward by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 524,683 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $71,425,000 after acquiring an additional 143,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,835,915 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $899,431,000 after purchasing an additional 77,654 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Woodward Stock Down 17.1 %

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $31.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.82. 2,383,336 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 415,809. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.62 and a quick ratio of 1.78. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.03 and a 1-year high of $188.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.37.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The technology company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.11. Woodward had a net margin of 11.09% and a return on equity of 16.50%. The company had revenue of $847.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $853.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Woodward’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 22nd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Woodward’s payout ratio is 17.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $156.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $159.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $140.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $143.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.00.

Insider Activity at Woodward

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.01, for a total transaction of $1,002,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares in the company, valued at $2,914,324.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.12% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.