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 the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $864,156.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,157. The trade was a 20.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Woodward Price Performance

WWD stock traded up $4.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $182.93. The company had a trading volume of 185,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.80 and a 200 day moving average of $174.13. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $144.04 and a fifty-two week high of $201.64.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The technology company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.21. Woodward had a net margin of 11.18% and a return on equity of 16.76%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Woodward from $226.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $216.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Woodward from $193.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Woodward from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $197.38.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WWD. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in Woodward in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Woodward in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. NBT Bank N A NY acquired a new stake in Woodward during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Woodward during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Woodward by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

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.