Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Sells $1,496,950.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas Cromwell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.39, for a total value of $1,496,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 15,135 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,531,267.65. This trade represents a 24.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Woodward Stock Down 0.7%

WWD stock traded down $2.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $298.04. 567,773 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 525,519. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $261.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.63. Woodward, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.82 and a 12-month high of $304.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $995.26 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $943.15 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

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

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Woodward’s payout ratio is presently 15.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Woodward by 13.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,190 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 33.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,178 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Woodward by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 505 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the 1st quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Woodward during the 1st quarter valued at about $294,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WWD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a research note on Monday. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Woodward from $200.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.67.

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.