Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,143 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in WD-40 were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $75,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,117 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 152,552 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,005,000 after acquiring 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 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 133,356 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,103,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in WD-40 by 0.6% in the third 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 period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in WD-40 by 10.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 59,841 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $12,162,000 after buying an additional 5,481 shares during the period. 91.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,146.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman purchased 182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $272.42 per share, with a total value of $49,580.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $837,146.66. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David Pendarvis purchased 328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $234.75 per share, with a total value of $76,998.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 942 shares of company stock valued at $226,897 over the last 90 days. 0.65% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WD-40 Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $225.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.56, a current ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. WD-40 has a 52-week low of $181.38 and a 52-week high of $278.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.25. The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.95 and a beta of -0.06.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.01. WD-40 had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 32.30%. The company 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 earnings per share. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that WD-40 will post 5.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $313.00 price target 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.