Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) EVP Karrie Bem Sells 185 Shares of Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) EVP Karrie Bem sold 185 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.00, for a total transaction of $65,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,295,040. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Woodward Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $351.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.08, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $369.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $204.10 and a fifty-two week high of $407.00.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Woodward had a net margin of 12.85% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.69 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.150-9.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 15.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Woodward from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $440.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective on shares of Woodward in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.27.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $451,093,000 after purchasing an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in Woodward by 0.6% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after acquiring an additional 8,307 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Woodward by 45.7% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after acquiring an additional 334,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Woodward by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $297,014,000 after acquiring an additional 76,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.