Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases Shares of 4,500 WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in WD-40 by 41.3% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 28.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in WD-40 by 77.9% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 475 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC traded up $5.06 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $234.74. The company had a trading volume of 61,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,433. 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 twelve month low of $211.03 and a twelve month high of $292.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $237.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a PE ratio of 44.89 and a beta of -0.05.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The firm had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This is an increase from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. WD-40's payout ratio is 72.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $322.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, January 27th.

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.