ARS Investment Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN)

ARS Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in Olin Co. (NYSE:OLN) by 54.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,133 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 91,790 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Olin worth $2,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Olin by 88.2% during the third 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. Covestor Ltd raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Olin during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Olin by 26.2% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,534 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Olin by 4,862.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,556 shares in the last quarter. 88.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OLN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Olin from $41.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Olin from $48.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America raised Olin from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $48.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Olin from $45.00 to $43.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Olin has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Olin Stock Performance

Shares of Olin stock opened at $33.78 on Tuesday. Olin Co. has a 52 week low of $30.69 and a 52 week high of $60.60. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.98. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.48. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. Olin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.52%.

Olin declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 12th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the specialty chemicals company to repurchase up to 45% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication 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.