WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Position Boosted by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $4,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of WD-40 in the third quarter valued at $261,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.9% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 5,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 9.9% during the third quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 3,781 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $768,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in WD-40 by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 38,537 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $7,832,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

WD-40 Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ WDFC opened at $225.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a current ratio of 2.27. WD-40 has a twelve month low of $181.38 and a twelve month high of $278.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.95 and a beta of -0.06.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is 70.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at $4,771,424.34. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 942 shares of company stock worth $226,897. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.