Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $24.06 Million Stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 32.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,560 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 53,069 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.81% of WD-40 worth $24,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 57.7% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the fourth quarter worth approximately $60,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC opened at $262.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $242.01. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $194.09 and a fifty-two week high of $278.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.64 and a beta of -0.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.07. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.07% and a return on equity of 32.43%. The business had revenue of $155.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. WD-40’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $313.00 to $303.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th.

WD-40 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.