Man Group plc Raises Position in Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN)

Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Willdan Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:WLDN) by 180.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,924 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 20,530 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.23% of Willdan Group worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willdan Group in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 470.2% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,682 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 26.4% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,597 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Willdan Group in the 4th quarter worth $125,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in Willdan Group by 626.5% in the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,526 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WLDN. Wedbush upgraded shares of Willdan Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Willdan Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th.

Willdan Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WLDN opened at $51.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $745.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56 and a beta of 1.09. Willdan Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.19 and a 12 month high of $52.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.50 and its 200 day moving average is $39.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willdan Group

In other Willdan Group news, CEO Michael A. Bieber sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.11, for a total value of $1,202,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 200,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,669,195.91. The trade was a 11.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mohammad Shahidehpour sold 2,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.20, for a total transaction of $89,101.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,466.40. This trade represents a 15.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 67,273 shares of company stock valued at $3,249,652 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.80% of the company’s stock.

Willdan Group Profile

Willdan Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides professional, technical, and consulting services primarily in the United States. It operates in two segments, Energy, and Engineering and Consulting. The Energy segment offers comprehensive audit and surveys, program design and implementation, master planning, demand reduction, grid optimization, benchmarking analyses, design engineering, construction management, performance contracting, installation, alternative financing, measurement and verification services, and software and data analytics, as well as energy consulting and engineering, turnkey facility and infrastructure projects, and customer support services.