Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells $641,388.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.36, for a total value of $641,388.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 15,477 shares in the company, valued at $3,008,109.72. This trade represents a 17.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded down $4.74 during trading on Friday, reaching $183.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 381,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 462,286. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $186.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.45 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

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Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders 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 an increase from Woodward's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Woodward in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays upped their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, 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 research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.