Geneva Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Geneva Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 217,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned 1.60% of WD-40 worth $51,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in WD-40 during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position 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 $201,000. 91.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

WD-40 Price Performance

NASDAQ WDFC traded down $1.90 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $233.27. The stock had a trading volume of 79,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 128,121. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.07. The company has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.56 and a beta of -0.02. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $182.53 and a 52-week high of $278.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David Pendarvis purchased 328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven A. Brass purchased 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was bought at an average price 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 942 shares of company stock worth $226,897 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

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.