HighTower Advisors LLC Has $1.74 Million Stock Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,640 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $1,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new stake in WD-40 in the third quarter worth about $206,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 77.9% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 475 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 6.9% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 5,021 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 7.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,168 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,848,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in WD-40 by 13.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 36,211 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,338,000 after acquiring an additional 4,394 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WD-40 Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $266.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $270.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16 and a beta of -0.07. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $211.03 and a 52 week high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.20 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 31.53%. WD-40’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This is a boost from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. WD-40’s payout ratio is 73.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WDFC shares. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th.

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.