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

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.15, for a total transaction of $1,435,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 15,135 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,346,015.25. This represents a 24.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $2.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $290.19. 665,848 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 527,648. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week 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 is $267.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.29. The company has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Woodward announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to buyback $1.80 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Woodward by 27.9% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 463 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Woodward by 4.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,036 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 80.0% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,769 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Woodward in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,340,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its position in shares of Woodward by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 35,704 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,781,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WWD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Monday, December 1st. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Woodward from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $281.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $294.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $329.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Woodward currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $286.67.

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.