Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stock Position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 19.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after buying an additional 172,768 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Olin were worth $51,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Olin during the third quarter worth about $916,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Olin by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,295,699 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $62,168,000 after purchasing an additional 37,043 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Olin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,350,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Olin by 846.7% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its holdings in shares of Olin by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 50,613 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $2,428,000 after buying an additional 13,557 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Olin news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total value of $459,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 24,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,052,450. The trade was a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $57.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Olin from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Olin has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.14.

Olin Stock Performance

NYSE OLN opened at $35.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Olin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $34.85 and a fifty-two week high of $60.60. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.61 and a 200-day moving average of $44.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Olin declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, December 12th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to purchase up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Olin Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

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.