Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell Sells 10,000 Shares

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total transaction of $1,864,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. This represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Woodward Trading Down 2.5 %

NASDAQ:WWD opened at $188.19 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $186.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.39. Woodward, Inc. has a one year low of $144.45 and a one year high of $201.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.45 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WWD. Truist Financial upped their target price on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Four investment 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,134,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 56.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,117 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,348,000 after acquiring an additional 7,248 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth $124,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth $186,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.