Millennium Management LLC Acquires 106,617 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 206.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,617 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 1.17% of WD-40 worth $38,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth about $54,571,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth about $17,903,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth about $10,179,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 104,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $25,343,000 after buying an additional 37,247 shares during the period. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $10,127,000 after buying an additional 34,229 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.52% 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 Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WDFC traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $241.10. The stock had a trading volume of 45,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 101,197. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $208.00 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $244.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.19 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.97%.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.