Insider Selling: Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) CEO Sells $1,923,200.00 in Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) CEO Charles Blankenship sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.64, for a total transaction of $1,923,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,320,466.56. This trade represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Woodward Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WWD opened at $373.90 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 47.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $353.57 and its 200-day moving average is $295.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.05. Woodward, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.82 and a 52 week high of $403.31.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 2nd. The technology company reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.52. The company had revenue of $996.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $901.92 million. Woodward had a net margin of 12.89% and a return on equity of 19.07%. Woodward’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Woodward has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.200-8.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Woodward Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 19th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a boost from Woodward’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 19th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.12%.

Woodward announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, November 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.80 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Woodward

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Woodward by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,388,758 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $603,663,000 after buying an additional 80,538 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,491,870 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $451,093,000 after buying an additional 106,390 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Woodward by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,403,551 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $354,691,000 after buying an additional 8,307 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,065,294 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $322,060,000 after acquiring an additional 334,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Woodward by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 982,448 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $297,014,000 after acquiring an additional 76,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WWD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Woodward in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Woodward from $378.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Woodward from $366.00 to $404.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.80.

About Woodward

Woodward, Inc (NASDAQ: WWD) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of control systems and components for the aerospace and industrial markets. Founded in 1870 and headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company specializes in motion control, fuel systems, actuation, and digital control solutions. Its offerings enable precision management of flow, pressure and motion in critical applications ranging from aircraft engines and power turbines to hydraulic systems.

Woodward’s product portfolio is organized into two primary segments: Aerospace and Industrial.