Northern Trust Corp Trims Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 160,936 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 19,208 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.19% of WD-40 worth $39,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new position in WD-40 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 525.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 194 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 3,400.0% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in WD-40 by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer bought 256 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $222.83 per share, with a total value of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.75% of the company's stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC traded up $6.26 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $244.40. The stock had a trading volume of 21,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,658. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.31 billion, a PE ratio of 46.68 and a beta of 0.17. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $208.00 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $232.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $245.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.44.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. WD-40's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. WD-40's payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

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.