Insider Selling: Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells $1,481,300.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.26, for a total value of $1,481,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,483,895.10. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD opened at $301.64 on Friday. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $304.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $264.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.91. The firm has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 41.95, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.02.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 24th. The technology company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $995.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $943.15 million. Woodward had a return on equity of 17.68% and a net margin of 12.39%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th were paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 20th. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that allows the company to buyback $1.80 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Wolfe Research set a $300.00 price target on Woodward and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research note on Monday. UBS Group raised their target price on Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $286.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth about $201,555,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at about $184,721,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Woodward by 122.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 905,578 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $228,849,000 after purchasing an additional 497,722 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Woodward by 1,086.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 330,514 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $83,524,000 after purchasing an additional 302,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Woodward in the third quarter worth approximately $73,406,000. 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.