Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $65.41 Million Stock Position in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. has reduced its position in WD-40 Company by 20.3% in the first quarter, now holding approximately 268,082 shares valued at $65.41 million.
• WD-40's quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations, reporting $1.54 earnings per share and revenues of $156.92 million, though slightly below anticipated figures.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.94 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.7% with a payout ratio of 59.21%.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. reduced its position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,082 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 68,403 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.98% of WD-40 worth $65,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 18.7% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $60,560,000 after buying an additional 39,137 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in WD-40 by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 162,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $39,572,000 after acquiring an additional 89,120 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in WD-40 by 206.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $38,381,000 after purchasing an additional 106,617 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in WD-40 by 28,448.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 114,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,863,000 after purchasing an additional 113,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in WD-40 in the 1st quarter valued at $23,556,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ WDFC opened at $216.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12 and a beta of 0.15. WD-40 Company has a 52 week low of $208.00 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a current ratio of 2.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.08 and a 200-day moving average of $231.76.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About WD-40

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.

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