Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,889 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in WD-40 by 146.6% during the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,693 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 4,573 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 23.9% in the first quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 4,665 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 during the first quarter worth $6,072,000. Finally, Dividend Assets Capital LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 43.3% during the first quarter. Dividend Assets Capital LLC now owns 20,056 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 6,060 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC opened at $232.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 0.14. WD-40 Company has a 52 week low of $208.00 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $237.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a net margin of 13.99% and a return on equity of 31.55%. The company had revenue of $146.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.40 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. WD-40’s payout ratio is currently 59.97%.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer bought 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,072 shares in the company, valued at $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

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.