Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) CEO Sells $1,079,900.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.98, for a total value of $1,079,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 73,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,791,809.66. This trade represents a 6.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Woodward Stock Performance

Woodward stock traded down $1.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $216.83. The stock had a trading volume of 590,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 464,040. Woodward, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.98 and a 1 year high of $220.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $188.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.62. The stock has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.24.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The technology company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.25. Woodward had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 11.18%. The business had revenue of $883.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $838.61 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. Woodward's revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WWD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Woodward in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Woodward from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Truist Financial set a $232.00 price objective on Woodward in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $187.00 price objective on Woodward and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Woodward presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $204.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WWD. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 51.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,189 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,236,000 after acquiring an additional 14,326 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 5,555.6% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 509 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Woodward by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,003 shares of the technology company's stock worth $686,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Woodward by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,467 shares of the technology company's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.