Van ECK Associates Corp Makes New Investment in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,229 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $1,011,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WDFC. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 100.0% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 122.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 738 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $313.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ WDFC traded down $1.18 on Friday, reaching $232.09. The company had a trading volume of 51,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,949. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.33 and a beta of -0.02. The company's fifty day moving average is $242.46 and its 200 day moving average is $244.45. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $182.53 and a 52-week high of $278.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.51 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. WD-40's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. WD-40's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 432 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $232.83 per share, with a total value of $49,592.79. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 2,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $623,053.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 1,155 shares of company stock worth $276,490 in the last quarter. 0.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.