Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 37,247 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,247 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.77% of WD-40 worth $25,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WDFC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 209.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,537,000 after buying an additional 5,095 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in WD-40 by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,627,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $395,006,000 after acquiring an additional 16,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 859 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WD-40 stock traded down $1.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $222.81. 41,294 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 100,860. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $208.00 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68 and a beta of 0.03.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The company had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 EPS. WD-40's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson raised WD-40 to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th.

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.