Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,073,087 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 172,768 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.92% of Olin worth $51,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Olin by 24.8% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,452,708 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $165,661,000 after purchasing an additional 685,710 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Olin by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 8,838,988 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $424,095,000 after buying an additional 531,330 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Olin by 429.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 610,153 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,769,000 after acquiring an additional 494,976 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Olin by 70.9% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 544,814 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $26,140,000 after purchasing an additional 225,930 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Olin by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,741,007 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $176,396,000 after purchasing an additional 194,755 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE OLN traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $34.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,916,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,776. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Olin Co. has a 1 year low of $34.07 and a 1 year high of $60.60. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $42.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.70.

Olin announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin's payout ratio is 64.52%.

Insider Transactions at Olin

In other news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total value of $459,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,056 shares in the company, valued at $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on OLN. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. KeyCorp cut their price target on Olin from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.14.

About Olin

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.