GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 41.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 226 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 28.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 393 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 240.9% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 467 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 28.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDFC opened at $240.75 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $264.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.16. WD-40 has a twelve month low of $211.03 and a twelve month high of $292.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 47.11 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $153.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total value of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This trade represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WDFC shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $322.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Company 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.