WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,268 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of WD-40 worth $1,738,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 20,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $4,974,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,059 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at $535,000. Finally, Strs Ohio increased its holdings in WD-40 by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,600 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

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

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WD-40 stock opened at $235.17 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.94 and a beta of -0.02. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.15. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $182.53 and a 12 month high of $278.78. 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 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.