Fmr LLC Trims Stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

FMR LLC lessened its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 41.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,533 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 5,318 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 0.06% of WD-40 worth $1,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 80.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $15,298,000 after purchasing an additional 31,055 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in WD-40 by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 92,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $20,208,000 after buying an additional 11,112 shares during the last quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,960,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in WD-40 by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 17,958 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $4,631,000 after buying an additional 7,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $13,382,000 after acquiring an additional 6,434 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC stock traded up $0.25 on Monday, reaching $266.79. 61,254 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,484. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $270.51 and a 200-day moving average of $253.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 52.43 and a beta of -0.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.47 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.

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

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.58%.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,317,310.30. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WDFC. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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.

WD-40 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.