D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Acquires 7,874 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,968 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,874 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.19% of WD-40 worth $6,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,571,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at about $17,903,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,179,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 104,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,343,000 after purchasing an additional 37,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 456.4% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 41,728 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $10,127,000 after acquiring an additional 34,229 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of WDFC stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $246.63. 59,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,036. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $208.00 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $232.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.50. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.25 and a beta of 0.17.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. WD-40's payout ratio is presently 59.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WD-40 Company 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.