Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 7,073 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,614,368 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 7,073 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.91% of WD-40 worth $328,104,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in WD-40 in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 1,805.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 122.7% during the 2nd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 334 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 412 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $313.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th.

Insider Activity at WD-40

In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman bought 182 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WD-40 Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WD-40 stock traded up $3.60 during trading on Thursday, reaching $253.31. 84,759 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 128,408. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.40 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $259.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.16. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $163.82 and a 1-year high of $278.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 49.86 and a beta of -0.06.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $140.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.40 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. WD-40's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.29%.

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.