Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Takes $10.18 Million Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 41,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $10,179,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.31% of WD-40 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 209.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in WD-40 by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 150,557 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $36,537,000 after purchasing an additional 5,095 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at $17,903,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,627,684 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $395,006,000 after buying an additional 16,763 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 73,061 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $17,730,000 after buying an additional 6,330 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 256 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $222.83 per share, with a total value of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of WD-40 to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th.

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC traded up $5.39 on Monday, reaching $237.21. The stock had a trading volume of 74,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,807. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.44 and a beta of 0.17. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $208.00 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $245.44.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The business had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. WD-40's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.97%.

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.