Thomas G. Cromwell Sells 10,000 Shares of Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) Stock

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD) COO Thomas G. Cromwell sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.54, for a total transaction of $1,795,400.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 11,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,066,684.94. This represents a 46.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Woodward Stock Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ WWD traded up $0.01 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $178.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 432,476. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $169.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $170.98. Woodward, Inc. has a 1-year low of $131.12 and a 1-year high of $201.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a PE ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Woodward Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. Woodward’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Woodward

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WWD. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Woodward by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,548 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Woodward in the 1st quarter worth approximately $229,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Woodward by 82.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 660 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Woodward by 2.4% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Woodward by 2.8% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,349 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 81.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WWD shares. StockNews.com upgraded Woodward from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Woodward from $158.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Woodward from $209.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Woodward from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective (down previously from $186.00) on shares of Woodward in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.44.

About Woodward

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.