Vanguard Group Inc. Has $328.10 Million Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,614,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 7,073 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.91% of WD-40 worth $328,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1,805.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 122.7% in the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 334 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 412 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $313.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a report on Tuesday, March 5th.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $249.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.16 and a beta of -0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $163.82 and a 12-month high of $278.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.05.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.28. WD-40 had a return on equity of 33.51% and a net margin of 12.57%. The firm had revenue of $140.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.40 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 link. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.