Insider Selling: Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells 3,300 Shares of Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,008,109.72. The trade was a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Woodward Stock Down 0.1 %

Woodward stock opened at $188.03 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.45 and a 52 week high of $201.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $186.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.47. 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 (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Woodward by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Woodward by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in Woodward by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Woodward by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.