First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.42 Million Stock Holdings in Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,209 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of Oil-Dri Co. of America worth $1,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 4,050 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $9,834,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 146,239 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $12,816,000 after purchasing an additional 15,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth about $772,000. 49.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE ODC opened at $44.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.79. Oil-Dri Co. of America has a one year low of $29.47 and a one year high of $49.72. The firm has a market cap of $642.91 million, a PE ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.63 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Oil-Dri Co. of America (NYSE:ODC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $116.91 million for the quarter.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Oil-Dri Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Oil-Dri Co. of America Company 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.