WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Trading Down 1.2%

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) was down 1.2% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $227.00 and last traded at $227.00. Approximately 16,421 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 133,385 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.86.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.31 and a beta of -0.06. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.36. 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 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $139.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. WD-40’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In related news, Director David Pendarvis purchased 328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $234.75 per share, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other WD-40 news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 approximately $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director David Pendarvis acquired 328 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,256.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the second quarter valued at about $44,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the first quarter worth $53,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the fourth quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1,805.3% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.