Insider Selling: Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) Director Sells 1,750 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Woodward, Inc. Director John Cohn sold 1,750 shares of stock at an average price of $244.32, resulting in a total sale value of $427,560 and a 7.70% decrease in his ownership of the company.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.76 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates, with a revenue increase of 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
• Woodward declared a quarterly dividend of $0.28 per share, yielding an annualized dividend of $1.12 and a payout ratio of 17.72%.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) Director John Cohn sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.32, for a total value of $427,560.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,121,680.16. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Woodward Stock Performance

Shares of WWD stock traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $237.45. 348,848 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 519,486. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $267.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.27. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $250.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.57% and a net margin of 11.32%.The company had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Woodward has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.500-6.750 EPS. Analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Woodward's payout ratio is 17.72%.

Institutional Trading of Woodward

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 191.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 166 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Woodward by 2,314.3% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 189.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 171 shares of the technology company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Woodward during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 81.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Woodward from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Zacks Research cut Woodward from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.11.

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.

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