Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stake in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,878 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 29,217 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 49.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 306 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 17.0% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 522 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 22.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in WD-40 during the 1st quarter valued at $146,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Performance

WDFC stock opened at $187.52 on Tuesday. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $186.19 and a 1-year high of $276.80. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $195.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $214.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.30. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.68% and a return on equity of 31.84%. The business had revenue of $163.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. WD-40 has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.750-6.150 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, October 20th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 20th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is 56.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 200 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $200.46 per share, for a total transaction of $40,092.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 5,935 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,730.10. The trade was a 3.49% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $200.46 per share, with a total value of $72,566.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,767,730.06. The trade was a 1.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought 2,640 shares of company stock valued at $522,765 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. DA Davidson set a $300.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $300.00.

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.