Squarepoint Ops LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Squarepoint Ops LLC lessened its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 54.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 8,647 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned 0.05% of WD-40 worth $1,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 525.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 3,400.0% during the 4th quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, DA Davidson upgraded shares of WD-40 to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WDFC stock traded up $4.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $244.68. 610,874 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,792. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $233.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.97. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $208.00 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 46.87 and a beta of 0.17.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $222.83 per share, with a total value of $57,044.48. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Company 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.