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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.99, for a total value of $1,799,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,071,864.89. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $183.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $171.08. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $131.12 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The technology company reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $855.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 5.97 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, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.64%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 101.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WWD. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $226.00 price target (up previously from $187.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Five equities research 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, Woodward presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

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.