Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells $1,845,000.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $185.39 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a twelve month low of $144.45 and a twelve month high of $201.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $185.66 and its 200 day moving average is $175.76.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s payout ratio is 18.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WWD. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.38.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.