GSA Capital Partners LLP Trims Stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP cut its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 60.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 10,545 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned approximately 0.05% of WD-40 worth $1,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in WD-40 in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in WD-40 by 24.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 1,193 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WD-40 in the third quarter worth $1,960,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 10.3% during the third quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 4,060 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 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.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total transaction of $205,584.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,312,563.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WD-40 stock traded down $4.02 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $286.09. 84,307 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 106,682. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.21 and a beta of -0.08. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $211.03 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $261.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $245.88.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.20 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The company's revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

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.