Man Group plc Takes Position in WD-40 Company $WDFC

Man Group plc bought a new position in shares of WD-40 Company (NASDAQ:WDFC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 11,456 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,791,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of WD-40 during the second quarter valued at approximately $505,734,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in WD-40 in the fourth quarter valued at $29,291,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in WD-40 by 739.8% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 165,187 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $32,525,000 after purchasing an additional 145,517 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in WD-40 by 41.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 411,312 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $83,883,000 after purchasing an additional 121,358 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in WD-40 in the 2nd quarter worth $29,162,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.52% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDFC opened at $214.15 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $234.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.65 and a quick ratio of 1.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55 and a beta of 0.27. WD-40 Company has a 1-year low of $175.38 and a 1-year high of $298.90.

WD-40 (NASDAQ:WDFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 9th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.75. The company had revenue of $195.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.79 million. WD-40 had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 33.53%. WD-40’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. WD-40 has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.050-6.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that WD-40 Company will post 6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WD-40 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 17th. WD-40’s payout ratio is presently 62.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WDFC. Northcoast Research raised shares of WD-40 to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Friday, August 21st. DA Davidson upped their price target on WD-40 from $270.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of WD-40 in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of WD-40 from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $305.00.

Insider Transactions at WD-40

In other WD-40 news, insider Patricia Q. Olsem sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.73, for a total transaction of $70,119.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 4,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,115,827.02. This trade represents a 5.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.78% of the company’s stock.

WD-40 Company Profile

WD-40 Company, headquartered in San Diego, California, is best known for its flagship WD-40® Multi-Use Product, a water-displacing spray used for lubrication, rust prevention and cleaning. Since its introduction in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company, the WD-40 brand has become a household and industrial staple. Over time, the company has broadened its portfolio to include complementary maintenance and cleaning brands such as 3-IN-ONE® oils, Lava® hand cleaners, Solvol® solvents, Spot Shot® stain removers and X-14® cleaning products.

WD-40 Company distributes its products in more than 176 countries through retail, industrial and automotive channels.