Arizona State Retirement System Decreases Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,792 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $907,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,125,850 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $389,520,000 after buying an additional 25,648 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,623,323 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $285,283,000 after buying an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 671,737 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $119,603,000 after buying an additional 5,111 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 492,955 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $92,996,000 after buying an additional 4,526 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 328,113 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $60,120,000 after buying an additional 70,598 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director David Pendarvis acquired 328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $231.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $256.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.31. 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 has a one year low of $181.38 and a one year high of $278.78. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.20 and a beta of -0.06.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.01. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 32.30%. The firm had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. WD-40’s payout ratio is 70.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About WD-40

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.