Whittier Trust Co. Trims Holdings in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Whittier Trust Co. trimmed its position in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,133 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 5,204 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 4,133.3% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 127 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 1,462.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 125 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new position in WD-40 in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 340.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 163 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 207.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WDFC. William Blair began coverage on shares of WD-40 in a report on Monday, April 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of WD-40 from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.00.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, Director David Pendarvis bought 424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.15 per share, with a total value of $104,791.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,898 shares in the company, valued at $1,704,840.70. This trade represents a 6.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Trading Up 4.8%

Shares of WDFC stock opened at $213.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29 and a beta of 0.25. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $175.38 and a 1-year high of $253.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $224.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.76.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $161.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.90 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 30.23%. The company’s revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is 69.39%.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.