Westhampton Capital LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Westhampton Capital LLC decreased its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,682 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. WD-40 comprises approximately 2.1% of Westhampton Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Westhampton Capital LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $4,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WDFC. State Street Corp increased its stake in WD-40 by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 523,154 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $134,911,000 after buying an additional 9,418 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in WD-40 by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 378,115 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $97,524,000 after acquiring an additional 12,943 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.7% during the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 321,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,975,000 after acquiring an additional 5,381 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 0.5% during the third quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 211,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $54,574,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of WD-40 by 2.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 145,462 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $37,512,000 after acquiring an additional 3,960 shares in the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WDFC. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $322.00 price target on shares of WD-40 in a research note on Monday.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of WDFC opened at $232.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a current ratio of 2.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $252.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.45. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $211.03 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 44.56 and a beta of -0.04.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $153.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.40 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that WD-40 will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from WD-40’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In related news, Director William B. Noble sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.70, for a total transaction of $289,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,310.30. This represents a 11.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.75% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.