Gregg C. Sengstack Sells 4,600 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Gregg C. Sengstack sold 4,600 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $864,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. This trade represents a 20.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Woodward Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ WWD opened at $182.88 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $183.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.13. Woodward, Inc. has a 12 month low of $144.04 and a 12 month high of $201.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This is an increase from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Woodward by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $225,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Woodward by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 401 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Delta Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Woodward by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WWD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Woodward Company Profile

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.