Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 98,170 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $3,318,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Olin at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in Olin by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,833 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Connable Office Inc. raised its holdings in Olin by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Connable Office Inc. now owns 6,207 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $210,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Olin by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 6,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Olin by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,998 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Olin by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,887 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

OLN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Olin from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Olin from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Olin from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $28.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Olin in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Olin in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $38.38.

Olin Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Olin stock traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, reaching $24.76. 1,221,816 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,408,813. The firm's 50-day moving average is $27.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.27. Olin Co. has a 52 week low of $22.98 and a 52 week high of $60.60.

Olin (NYSE:OLN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.09 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Olin Co. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Olin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Olin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.89%.

Olin declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 purchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Olin news, CEO Kenneth Todd Lane bought 7,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.06 per share, for a total transaction of $203,435.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 7,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,435. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.