WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Sold by Man Group plc

Man Group plc lessened its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 42.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 78,428 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 57,728 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.58% of WD-40 worth $19,033,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDFC. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in WD-40 by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 845 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,697 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 1,658 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in WD-40 by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 2,662 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $646,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted 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 valued at $2,454,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ WDFC traded down $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $242.38. The stock had a trading volume of 7,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,788. The company has a quick ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 2.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $232.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $244.51. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $208.00 and a 12-month high of $292.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.48 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $146.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.40 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.97%.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 256 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.