Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Shares Bought by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,502,980 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,920 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.87% of Olin worth $388,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Pzena Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Olin by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,709,611 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $125,385,000 after buying an additional 256,903 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Olin by 5,746.2% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,613,796 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $54,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586,192 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Olin by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,353,907 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $45,762,000 after purchasing an additional 58,208 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Olin by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,305,521 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $44,127,000 after purchasing an additional 97,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Olin by 19.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $51,015,000 after purchasing an additional 172,768 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane acquired 7,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $28.06 per share, with a total value of $203,435.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,435. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Olin Price Performance

Shares of OLN opened at $24.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.46 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.76. Olin Co. has a twelve month low of $22.98 and a twelve month high of $60.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

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

Olin declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to reacquire up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Olin Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on OLN. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $34.00 to $28.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Olin from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $50.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America raised Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Olin from $31.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Olin from $34.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.69.

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.