Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $455,000 Stake in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. significantly increased its stake in WD-40 Company by 2,642.6%, acquiring a total of 1,865 shares valued at $455,000.
• WD-40 reported earnings of $1.54 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, but its revenue was slightly below estimates at $156.92 million.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was set at $0.94, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.7%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 2,642.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,865 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,797 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in WD-40 were worth $455,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WD-40 by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 597 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in WD-40 by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 468 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in WD-40 by 15.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,168,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in WD-40 by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson cut their price objective 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.00.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of WDFC traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $218.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,386. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34 and a beta of 0.13. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $208.00 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $221.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.95.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.21%.

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.