M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,047 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 616 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Olin were worth $272,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Olin by 88.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 589 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Olin by 357.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 915 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Olin by 246.8% in the fourth quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,616 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Olin by 59.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,431 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 911 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Olin by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the period. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Olin

In related news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane purchased 7,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,435. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Olin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:OLN opened at $24.66 on Friday. Olin Co. has a 12 month low of $22.98 and a 12 month high of $60.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Olin (NYSE:OLN) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.10. Olin had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 1.66%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Olin Co. will post 1.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Olin declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Olin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on OLN shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Olin in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Olin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $28.00 target price on Olin in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America upgraded Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut Olin from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $41.00 to $33.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.38.

Olin 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.