Shawn Mclevige Sells 1,850 Shares of Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) EVP Shawn Mclevige sold 1,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.37, for a total value of $711,084.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,095 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,625.15. The trade was a 37.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Down 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $373.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.96. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $403.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.46.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. Woodward had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 12.89%.The firm had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.92 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.12%.

Woodward declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, November 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WWD. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $603,663,000 after purchasing an additional 80,538 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,093,000 after buying an additional 106,390 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Woodward by 0.6% in the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after buying an additional 8,307 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Woodward by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after buying an additional 334,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Woodward by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,014,000 after acquiring an additional 76,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Woodward from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.80.

Woodward Company Profile

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.