First Trust Advisors LP Sells 11,304 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,583 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 11,304 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.33% of WD-40 worth $43,581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $85,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $97,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in WD-40 by 23.1% in 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. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in WD-40 by 39.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 550 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC traded up $2.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $225.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,788. The business's 50 day moving average price is $233.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $247.34. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $208.00 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.27 and a beta of 0.03.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. WD-40's payout ratio is 59.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.