Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 32,636 Shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,397 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 32,636 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.60% of WD-40 worth $19,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 597 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in WD-40 by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,111 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 17.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,425 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of WDFC traded up $3.57 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $226.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,209. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $238.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.63. 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 current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 2.02. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.73 and a beta of 0.14.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 31.23%. The company had revenue of $156.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. WD-40's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price target on WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

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.