Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 47,528 Shares of WD-40 Company $WDFC

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,650,622 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 47,528 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.24% of WD-40 worth $325,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in WD-40 by 6.4% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 533,738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $105,467,000 after buying an additional 32,333 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in WD-40 by 24.4% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 333,505 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,069,000 after buying an additional 65,423 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 284,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after buying an additional 5,173 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 264,136 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $52,193,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 110.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 178,395 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $35,251,000 after buying an additional 93,502 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Performance

WDFC opened at $209.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.67 and a beta of 0.33. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $175.38 and a 1-year high of $253.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $219.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 30.23%. The business had revenue of $161.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.90 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 5.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, April 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WD-40 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.00.

About WD-40

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.