Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 8.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,805 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of WD-40 worth $4,974,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WDFC. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in WD-40 by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 314,362 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 152,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,005,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 2.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 133,356 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its position in WD-40 by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 90,872 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $18,469,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in WD-40 by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,162,000 after buying an additional 5,481 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

WD-40 Stock Down 0.7 %

WDFC opened at $225.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 1.56. WD-40 has a 12 month low of $181.38 and a 12 month high of $278.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.95 and a beta of -0.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $250.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $242.25.

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

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 70.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $313.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a 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.