WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,810 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. owned approximately 0.32% of WD-40 worth $11,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 1,131.2% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 4,063 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after acquiring an additional 3,733 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,623,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $411,374,000 after acquiring an additional 6,532 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $20,491,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WD-40 during the first quarter worth $4,180,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WD-40 during the second quarter worth about $547,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC traded up $5.50 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $256.75. 155,216 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 106,830. The business has a 50 day moving average of $256.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.17 and a beta of -0.08. WD-40 has a 1 year low of $203.10 and a 1 year high of $278.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $149.20 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 32.23%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on WD-40 from $303.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

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.