WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of WD-40 worth $6,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 321,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 2.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 307,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,452,000 after buying an additional 5,893 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its position in WD-40 by 0.5% in the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 211,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,574,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 2.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 142,222 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $31,238,000 after buying an additional 3,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 92,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,208,000 after acquiring an additional 11,112 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WD-40 Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $280.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $266.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.54. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $211.03 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 54.85 and a beta of -0.08.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.11). WD-40 had a net margin of 11.79% and a return on equity of 31.53%. The business 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 company earned $1.21 EPS. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,310.30. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The sale 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 corporate insiders.

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.