WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) Stock Price Down 2.8% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) dropped 2.8% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $249.81 and last traded at $250.24. Approximately 125,721 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 20% from the average daily volume of 104,376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WD-40 Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.91 and a beta of -0.07. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $270.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.44.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The business had revenue of $156.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.20 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This is a positive change from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. WD-40’s payout ratio is 73.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,310.30. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 80.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 69,650 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $15,298,000 after acquiring an additional 31,055 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in WD-40 by 309.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its position in WD-40 by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 66,993 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,276,000 after purchasing an additional 14,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in WD-40 by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 378,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $97,524,000 after purchasing an additional 12,943 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 13.7% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 92,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $20,208,000 after buying an additional 11,112 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.