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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,008,109.72. This represents a 17.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $4.89 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $188.19. 706,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,575. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $186.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.45 and a 1-year high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.