Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 5,710 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 210.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,417 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,710 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $2,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 80.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after buying an additional 31,055 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 13.7% in 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 period. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,960,000. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 65.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 17,958 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,631,000 after purchasing an additional 7,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,925 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $13,382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,434 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 $2,317,310.30. The trade was a 11.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WDFC shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $322.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a report on Monday, November 18th.

WD-40 Stock Performance

Shares of WDFC stock opened at $274.27 on Friday. WD-40 has a 52 week low of $211.03 and a 52 week high of $292.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.67 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.47.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.34 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during 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 31.53%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

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.