Neuberger Berman Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC)

Neuberger Berman Group LLC decreased its position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 108,077 shares during the quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned 2.15% of WD-40 worth $70,962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneva Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WD-40 by 18.7% during the first quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 248,197 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $60,560,000 after buying an additional 39,137 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 122.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 162,181 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $39,572,000 after purchasing an additional 89,120 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 206.9% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 158,156 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,381,000 after purchasing an additional 106,617 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in WD-40 by 28,448.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 114,192 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $27,863,000 after purchasing an additional 113,792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings 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 worth $25,343,000 after purchasing an additional 37,247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of WD-40 from $322.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th.

WD-40 Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of WDFC stock opened at $225.95 on Thursday. WD-40 Company has a 12-month low of $208.00 and a 12-month high of $292.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $228.31 and its 200 day moving average is $232.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58 and a beta of 0.15.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $156.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.60 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 31.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current year.

WD-40 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. WD-40’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.21%.

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.