Insider Selling: Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Sells $1,966,380.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Eileen Paterson sold 5,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $378.15, for a total value of $1,966,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $959,744.70. This represents a 67.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD opened at $389.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.23 billion, a PE ratio of 49.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $324.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $279.76. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.82 and a 1 year high of $403.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.52. The business had revenue of $996.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $901.92 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. Woodward’s revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 19th will be issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is 14.11%.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Woodward during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 1,766.7% during the 3rd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Financial Perspectives Inc purchased a new position in shares of Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Woodward in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $450.00 target price on shares of Woodward in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.80.

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.