Van ECK Associates Corp Makes New $3.22 Million Investment in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,258 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,217,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.10% of WD-40 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in WD-40 by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in WD-40 by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in WD-40 by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of WDFC traded down $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.08. The company had a trading volume of 153,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,145. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 43.89 and a beta of -0.05. WD-40 has a one year low of $211.03 and a one year high of $292.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $238.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $254.77.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS 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 business had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. This is an increase from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.