Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,927 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 69 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $1,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 100.0% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 122.3% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 738 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of WD-40 during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WD-40 news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $232.22 per share, with a total value of $100,319.04. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 432 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $232.22 per share, for a total transaction of $100,319.04. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares in the company, valued at $4,771,424.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of WD-40 stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 942 shares of company stock worth $226,897 over the last ninety days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WD-40 Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDFC opened at $235.17 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 46.94 and a beta of -0.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $243.89 and a 200-day moving average of $244.15. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $182.53 and a 52-week high of $278.78.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.51 million. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

WD-40 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.