Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,134 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $510,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,289,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 313,844 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,786,000 after purchasing an additional 103,949 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 27.4% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 328,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,120,000 after purchasing an additional 70,598 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 121,804 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $24,526,000 after purchasing an additional 32,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new position in WD-40 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,223,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $313.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WD-40 news, Director David Pendarvis acquired 328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $234.75 per share, for a total transaction of $76,998.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Pendarvis bought 328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,256.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC opened at $231.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.56. WD-40 has a 1 year low of $181.38 and a 1 year high of $278.78. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.29 and a beta of -0.06.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.01. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $139.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.51 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.26%.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company develops and sells maintenance products, and homecare and cleaning products in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides multi-purpose maintenance products that include aerosol sprays, non-aerosol trigger sprays, precision pens, and in liquid-bulk form products under the WD-40 Multi-Use brand name; specialty maintenance products, such as penetrants, degreasers, corrosion inhibitors, greases, lubricants, and rust removers under the WD-40 Specialist brand; and bike-specific products.