Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 1,065 Shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,450 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WDFC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in WD-40 by 525.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 194 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in WD-40 by 23.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 548 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in WD-40 by 70.0% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 566 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at about $141,000. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson raised shares of WD-40 to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th.

WD-40 Price Performance

WDFC opened at $222.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.67 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. WD-40 has a 12-month low of $208.00 and a 12-month high of $292.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $234.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.78.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer acquired 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.