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

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 stock was sold at an average price of $186.49, for a total value of $1,864,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 15,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,886,305.73. This trade represents a 39.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Woodward Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of WWD opened at $183.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $186.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $144.45 and a 12-month high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.76%.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Woodward by 28.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 14,038 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,408,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,624 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 64,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,003,000 after buying an additional 6,917 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 165.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,476,000 after buying an additional 5,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at $270,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.