Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Takes $4.26 Million Position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 126,155 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,264,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.11% of Olin at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in OLN. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Olin by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 143,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $4,835,000 after buying an additional 51,051 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Olin during the third quarter worth approximately $916,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Olin by 2.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $62,168,000 after buying an additional 37,043 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Olin during the second quarter worth approximately $2,350,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Olin by 846.7% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 14,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $670,000 after buying an additional 12,700 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

OLN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays reduced their target price on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America raised Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Olin news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of Olin stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,052,450. The trade was a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Olin Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of OLN opened at $33.78 on Tuesday. Olin Co. has a 52 week low of $30.69 and a 52 week high of $60.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.24, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.19 and a 200-day moving average of $41.98.

Olin Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. Olin’s payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Olin declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Olin Company Profile

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents.