Virtu Financial LLC Invests $508,000 in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC acquired 2,084 shares of WD-40 Company, valued at approximately $508,000, during the 1st quarter, reflecting growing interest from institutional investors who now own 91.52% of the stock.
• Analysts at D.A. Davidson reduced their price target on WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00, while maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock.
• WD-40 reported a quarterly EPS of $1.54, beating expectations and showing a slight revenue increase of 1.2% compared to the same period last year.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,084 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 36.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in WD-40 by 8.9% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 597 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in WD-40 by 15.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 4,789 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,168,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 37.5% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WD-40 Trading Down 1.2%

WDFC traded down $2.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $219.98. 88,019 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 151,173. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. WD-40 Company has a 1 year low of $208.00 and a 1 year high of $292.36. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64 and a beta of 0.15.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share (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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. WD-40's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th.

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.