Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,142 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 6,032 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 1.91% of Oil-Dri Co. of America worth $24,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ODC. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 81.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 445 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 12.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,401 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $166,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America during the third quarter valued at about $216,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $235,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Oil-Dri Co. of America by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 6,500 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy Ryan sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.78, for a total value of $87,738.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,942. The trade was a 35.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 3,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.75, for a total transaction of $134,833.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 70,796 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,026,529. This trade represents a 4.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ODC opened at $43.34 on Wednesday. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a 52 week low of $29.47 and a 52 week high of $49.72. The stock has a market cap of $632.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.12.

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

Oil-Dri Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.81%.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Profile

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.