Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) CEO Sells $1,837,000.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) CEO Charles Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $367.40, for a total value of $1,837,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,194,759.60. The trade was a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of Woodward stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $385.91. 379,238 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,059. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $356.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $23.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.60, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $403.31.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was up 28.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Woodward by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $603,663,000 after acquiring an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 7.7% in the 4th 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 boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after purchasing an additional 8,307 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Woodward by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,060,000 after purchasing an additional 334,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 76,870 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $450.00 price target on shares of Woodward in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Woodward from $362.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.