Geneva Capital Management LLC Buys 988 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 211,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned 1.56% of WD-40 worth $54,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 152.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 1st quarter valued at about $305,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 20.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 26,800 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $6,789,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 18.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $690,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC opened at $290.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.77 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 $290.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.88.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $149.20 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. WD-40’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total transaction of $205,584.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,312,563.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WDFC. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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.