Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires 2,300 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,661 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.68% of WD-40 worth $55,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 73,061 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $17,730,000 after acquiring an additional 6,330 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,124 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 12,943 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,141,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1,459.1% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth about $593,000. Institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $217.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.66 and a beta of 0.03. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $211.03 and a 12 month high of $292.36. The business’s 50-day moving average is $236.60 and its 200 day moving average is $250.50.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.05. WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $146.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $154.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.