R Squared Ltd Takes $141,000 Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 580 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $141,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in WD-40 in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in WD-40 by 41.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in WD-40 by 34.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in WD-40 by 28.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in WD-40 by 28.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WD-40 news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDFC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday.

WD-40 Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $232.61 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.56 and a beta of -0.04. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $252.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 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 $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $153.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.03%.

WD-40 Company 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.