Holocene Advisors LP Sells 3,500 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Holocene Advisors LP decreased its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 53.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,079 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP's holdings in WD-40 were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in WD-40 during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in WD-40 during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in WD-40 by 41.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in WD-40 in the second quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in WD-40 by 34.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WDFC shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $322.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ:WDFC traded down $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $273.81. 44,432 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 81,458. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.01. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $211.03 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a PE ratio of 53.58 and a beta of -0.07.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total value of $205,584.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,312,563.02. This represents a 8.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

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.