WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Stake Lessened by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,034 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at about $17,903,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 309.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,566,000 after purchasing an additional 28,039 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in WD-40 during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,537,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its stake in WD-40 by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 66,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $17,276,000 after buying an additional 14,358 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new stake in WD-40 in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,217,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WD-40 Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC opened at $239.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.92 and a beta of -0.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $235.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $253.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.44. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $211.03 and a 52 week high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The company had revenue of $153.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $147.40 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. WD-40’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.42 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 Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday, January 27th.

WD-40 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.