Thomas G. Cromwell Sells 7,913 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 7,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.13, for a total transaction of $1,385,803.69. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,015,921.43. This represents a 40.74 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ WWD opened at $169.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.31 and a 52 week high of $188.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $167.09 and its 200 day moving average is $170.89. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.38.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s payout ratio is 16.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on WWD. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $152.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $160.00 target price (down from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Woodward from $228.00 to $201.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.67.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Woodward during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Woodward during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Woodward by 101.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 246 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.