Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $109.36 Million Holdings in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in WD-40 Company by 1,767.7% in the first quarter, owning 448,180 shares valued at $109.36 million.
• WD-40 reported an EPS of $1.54 for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $156.92 million, slightly below expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, yielding 1.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 59.21%.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 1,767.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 448,180 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 424,183 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 3.31% of WD-40 worth $109,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in WD-40 by 210.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in WD-40 by 96.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 149 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in WD-40 by 420.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 82.6% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Stock Performance

WD-40 stock traded down $1.89 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $215.17. 66,080 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 142,778. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $220.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.84. WD-40 Company has a 52 week low of $208.00 and a 52 week high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.14. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.23% and a net margin of 14.13%.The company had revenue of $156.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.21%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price objective on WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WD-40 currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.00.

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.