Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,252 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 125,426 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Olin worth $13,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Olin by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 589 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Olin in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Olin by 357.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 915 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Olin during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in Olin during the second quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on OLN shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Olin from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Olin from $52.00 to $48.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. KeyCorp dropped 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, Citigroup cut their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Olin currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $50.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP R Nichole Sumner sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.75, for a total transaction of $459,375.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 24,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,052,450. This represents a 30.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Olin Stock Performance

Olin stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $33.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,605,452 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,265,344. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.43. Olin Co. has a 12 month low of $32.90 and a 12 month high of $60.60. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $40.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.73.

Olin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. Olin's payout ratio is currently 64.52%.

Olin declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.