15,236 Shares in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Acquired by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,236 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,874,000. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of WD-40 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in WD-40 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WD-40 by 1,805.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDFC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on WD-40 in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on WD-40 from $256.00 to $258.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 20th.

WD-40 Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of WD-40 stock traded up $5.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $230.33. 186,521 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,449. The firm has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 46.55 and a beta of -0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.80. WD-40 has a 1 year low of $157.52 and a 1 year high of $234.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.97 and its 200 day moving average is $206.50.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.21. The firm had revenue of $140.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $138.20 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.81% and a net margin of 12.28%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 20th were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 19th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

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.