73,772 Shares in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Acquired by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 73,772 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $17,903,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.54% of WD-40 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 227,661 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $55,249,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 73,061 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $17,730,000 after buying an additional 6,330 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in WD-40 by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,124 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 1,459.1% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WD-40 news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer bought 256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WD-40 Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC traded down $5.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $219.15. The company had a trading volume of 16,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,739. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84 and a beta of 0.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $233.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $247.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. WD-40 has a one year low of $208.00 and a one year high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The company 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 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. WD-40's payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.