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

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

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock opened at $186.59 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $185.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.52. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $144.45 and a 1-year high of $201.64. 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 market cap of $11.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.25, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Barclays upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.