Quest Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Quest Partners LLC lessened its position in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 61.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 966 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,525 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WDFC. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WD-40 by 1.7% in the third quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 321,760 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $82,975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 307,097 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $67,452,000 after buying an additional 5,893 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 211,624 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,574,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 142,222 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,238,000 after buying an additional 3,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WD-40 by 13.7% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 92,005 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $20,208,000 after buying an additional 11,112 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William B. Noble sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.98, for a total transaction of $205,584.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,999 shares in the company, valued at $2,312,563.02. This trade represents a 8.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on WD-40 from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $322.00 target price on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Monday, November 18th.

WD-40 Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $280.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.85 and a beta of -0.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $249.54. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $211.03 and a 52-week high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.11). WD-40 had a return on equity of 31.53% and a net margin of 11.79%. The firm had revenue of $156.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $149.20 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. WD-40’s payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

WD-40 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.