Teacher Retirement System of Texas Buys 9,517 Shares of WD-40 Company $WDFC

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 41.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,379 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,517 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in WD-40 were worth $6,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in WD-40 by 110.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 178,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,251,000 after purchasing an additional 93,502 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in WD-40 in the third quarter valued at approximately $13,817,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in WD-40 by 24.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 333,505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,069,000 after purchasing an additional 65,423 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in WD-40 by 1,080.7% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 59,826 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,646,000 after purchasing an additional 54,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in WD-40 by 11.9% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 501,405 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $114,365,000 after purchasing an additional 53,225 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC opened at $224.96 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.83. WD-40 Company has a 52-week low of $175.38 and a 52-week high of $253.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.84.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. WD-40 had a return on equity of 30.23% and a net margin of 12.57%.The firm had revenue of $161.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that WD-40 Company will post 5.99 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. WD-40’s payout ratio is presently 69.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Pendarvis acquired 424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.15 per share, with a total value of $104,791.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,898 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,840.70. The trade was a 6.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDFC has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. William Blair initiated coverage on WD-40 in a research report on Monday, April 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WD-40 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.00.

WD-40 Profile

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.