Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $20.41 Million Stock Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lowered its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,392 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,417 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $20,414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WDFC. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 314,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $75,155,000 after purchasing an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 152,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,005,000 after buying an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 133,356 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,103,000 after buying an additional 3,352 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 90,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,469,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,162,000 after acquiring an additional 5,481 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 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, with a total value of $100,319.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other WD-40 news, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,771,424.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of WD-40 stock opened at $230.01 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91 and a beta of -0.02. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $182.53 and a 12 month high of $278.78.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were given a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

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.