WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Acquired by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 82.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $38,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 28,448.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 114,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,863,000 after acquiring an additional 113,792 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in WD-40 by 96.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 149 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in WD-40 by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,683 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after acquiring an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 39,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,619,000 after purchasing an additional 3,425 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.9%

WDFC stock opened at $243.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.60 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.73.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $146.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.97%.

Insider Activity at WD-40

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. The trade was a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.