LPL Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 2,685 Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC)

LPL Financial LLC bought a new position in Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,685 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 41.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,743 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,793 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $2,348,000 after acquiring an additional 4,050 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.51, for a total value of $148,785.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,820 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $502,468.20. This represents a 22.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 11.66% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Performance

Oil-Dri Co. of America stock opened at $42.03 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $44.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $613.43 million, a PE ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 0.55. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a twelve month low of $29.47 and a twelve month high of $49.72.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $116.91 million for the quarter. Oil-Dri Co. of America had a return on equity of 21.84% and a net margin of 9.92%.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.81%.

About Oil-Dri Co. of America

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments.