Jane Street Group LLC Has $4.59 Million Holdings in WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Jane Street Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 39.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,919 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 12,574 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC owned approximately 0.14% of WD-40 worth $4,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in WD-40 during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,571,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $17,903,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in WD-40 by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 104,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $25,343,000 after acquiring an additional 37,247 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in WD-40 by 309.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 37,094 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $9,566,000 after acquiring an additional 28,039 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of WD-40 by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 81,634 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $19,811,000 after acquiring an additional 27,684 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WD-40

In other news, CFO Sara Kathleen Hyzer purchased 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $222.83 per share, for a total transaction of $57,044.48. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $907,363.76. This trade represents a 6.71 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, DA Davidson raised WD-40 to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

WD-40 Stock Down 1.2 %

WD-40 stock opened at $231.82 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.41 and a beta of 0.17. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $232.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.44 and a quick ratio of 1.75. WD-40 has a fifty-two week low of $208.00 and a fifty-two week high of $292.36.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $146.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.40 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 11.78% and a return on equity of 31.68%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.14 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WD-40 will post 5.42 EPS for the current year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.97%.

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.