WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Purchased by Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 321,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $82,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 1,131.2% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 3,733 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in WD-40 by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,623,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $411,374,000 after purchasing an additional 6,532 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter valued at approximately $20,491,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 during the first quarter worth approximately $4,180,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 in the second quarter worth approximately $547,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total transaction of $205,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,312,563.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.2 %

WDFC stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $262.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 106,414. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $259.05 and its 200-day moving average is $243.47. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 51.29 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $211.03 and a 12 month high of $278.78.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.20 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WDFC. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

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.