WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Down 0.5%

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)’s stock price dropped 0.5% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $229.39 and last traded at $229.51. Approximately 12,738 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 129,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $230.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WD-40 Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.91 and a beta of -0.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.53. 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 (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, research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Pendarvis acquired 328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David Pendarvis acquired 328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WD-40

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.6% in the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 316,272 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $80,115,000 after buying an additional 1,910 shares during the period. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,142,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 152,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in WD-40 by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 136,121 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $32,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,765 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in WD-40 by 0.6% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 90,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $18,469,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

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.