Thomas Cromwell Sells 5,000 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.39, for a total value of $1,496,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,531,267.65. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock opened at $291.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $263.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.55. Woodward, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.82 and a 52-week high of $304.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.26. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.68% and a net margin of 12.39%.The business had revenue of $995.26 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.58%.

Woodward announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 target price on Woodward and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Zacks Research lowered Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Woodward in the second quarter valued at about $201,555,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $184,721,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Woodward by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $228,849,000 after acquiring an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Woodward by 1,086.9% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 330,514 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $83,524,000 after acquiring an additional 302,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,406,000. Institutional investors 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.