Raymond James & Associates Reduces Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,677 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.21% of WD-40 worth $7,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Profit Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.3% in the second quarter. Profit Investment Management LLC now owns 16,067 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,794 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 57.7% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 216 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 34.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in WD-40 by 28.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Trading Up 0.6 %

WD-40 stock opened at $264.40 on Thursday. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $208.70 and a 12 month high of $278.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $258.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.20. The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.74 and a beta of -0.08.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

Insider Activity at WD-40

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total value of $205,584.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,312,563.02. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WDFC shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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.