Geneva Capital Management LLC Has $51.95 Million Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Geneva Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 217,281 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $51,945,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of WD-40 in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in WD-40 in the fourth quarter worth about $56,000. Strs Ohio boosted its stake 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 last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew 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 valued at $176,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, CEO Steven A. Brass acquired 432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $232.22 per share, with a total value of $100,319.04. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,771,424.34. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Steven A. Brass bought 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,771,424.34. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Performance

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

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its 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. WD-40 had a return on equity of 32.30% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $139.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.22 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.