BlackRock Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,075,743 WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 2,075,743 shares of WD-40 in the second quarter, worth approximately $505.7 million, giving it a 15.47% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 91.52% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with the stock carrying an average “Buy” rating and a $305 consensus price target. DA Davidson raised its target to $305, while Northcoast Research and Zacks upgraded the stock to “strong buy.”
• WD-40 exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $2.33 in EPS versus $1.58 expected and $195.12 million in revenue, up 24.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.02, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,075,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $505,734,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 15.47% of WD-40 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 549 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 3,050 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 13.7% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 474 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.5% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,659 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of WD-40 from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Northcoast Research raised shares of WD-40 to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of WD-40 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded WD-40 from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of WD-40 in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $305.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WD-40 news, insider Patricia Q. Olsem sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.73, for a total value of $70,119.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 4,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,115,827.02. This trade represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WD-40 Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of WDFC opened at $215.89 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $235.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.02. WD-40 Company has a twelve month low of $175.38 and a twelve month high of $298.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.95, a current ratio of 2.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.75. The firm had revenue of $195.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.79 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 33.53%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. WD-40 has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.01%.

WD-40 Company Profile

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.

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