Eagle Asset Management Inc. Buys 1,293 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,896 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned 0.33% of WD-40 worth $12,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of WD-40 by 18.5% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 2,722 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $690,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in WD-40 by 1,648.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 822 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in WD-40 by 0.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,623,994 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $411,374,000 after purchasing an additional 6,532 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in WD-40 by 60.3% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,336 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,794 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $3,494,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $322.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WD-40 stock opened at $283.95 on Friday. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $211.03 and a 1-year high of $292.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $265.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.57 and a beta of -0.08.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $149.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,310.30. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.