Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells $1,864,900.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total transaction of $1,864,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $188.03 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.45 and a 12-month 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 $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $186.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.47.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 130.2% in the 4th quarter. Naya Capital Management UK Ltd. now owns 1,328,765 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $221,133,000 after purchasing an additional 751,541 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Woodward in the fourth quarter worth approximately $120,220,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Woodward by 135.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 992,189 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $170,170,000 after acquiring an additional 570,124 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 31.8% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,521,300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $253,175,000 after acquiring an additional 367,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,187,000. 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.