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

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,855,506.50. The trade was a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock opened at $185.39 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.65. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.05, 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Woodward by 44.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Woodward in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 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.