Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 319,371 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 2,389 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC owned 2.36% of WD-40 worth $77,505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in WD-40 during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings 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 valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 34.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WD-40 news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC traded up $1.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $240.73. The stock had a trading volume of 79,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,498. The firm has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 46.12 and a beta of -0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a 50 day moving average of $247.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.94. 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 Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. WD-40's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Research analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from WD-40's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. WD-40's payout ratio is currently 72.03%.

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.