Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of OLN. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in Olin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted 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 valued at $4,835,000 after buying an additional 51,051 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank grew its position in Olin by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 21,642 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $732,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Olin by 19.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $51,015,000 after buying an additional 172,768 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Olin in the third quarter valued at about $253,000. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Olin from $51.00 to $41.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Olin Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of OLN traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.36. The company had a trading volume of 613,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,367,453. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 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. Olin Co. has a 52-week low of $30.69 and a 52-week high of $60.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $37.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.98.

Olin Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin's payout ratio is 64.52%.

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

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.