Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Sells $536,256.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director John D. Cohn sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.52, for a total transaction of $536,256.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,015,216.80. This represents a 11.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Woodward Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $193.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $178.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $201.64. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $883.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 18.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WWD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $205.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 6.8% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 26,481 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,953,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 17,389 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Woodward by 50.0% during the first quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 1.2% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,246,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.