California Public Employees Retirement System Has $21.43 Million Stake in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,636 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,236 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.66% of WD-40 worth $21,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 1.3% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 3,861 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $785,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 2.0% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 3,932 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $799,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of WD-40 by 7.8% in the third quarter. Stokes Family Office LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in WD-40 by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. 91.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Jeffrey G. Lindeman acquired 182 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $272.42 per share, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at $837,146.66. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other WD-40 news, 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 price of $234.75 per share, for a total transaction of $76,998.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,256.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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, for a total transaction of $49,580.44. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 3,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $837,146.66. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 942 shares of company stock worth $226,897 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.65% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $225.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.01 and a beta of -0.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. WD-40 has a 1-year low of $181.38 and a 1-year high of $278.78.

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

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

WD-40 Company 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.