Needham Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America $ODC

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 635,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after purchasing an additional 61,500 shares during the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America makes up about 2.0% of Needham Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America were worth $31,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ODC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 57.4% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 502 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,062 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 361.7% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 1,879 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co purchased a new stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $96,000. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Oil-Dri Corporation Of America news, Director Ellen-Blair Chube sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.06, for a total transaction of $101,553.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $652,425.80. This trade represents a 13.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 11.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ODC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Price Performance

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America stock opened at $93.72 on Tuesday. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 12-month low of $45.61 and a 12-month high of $99.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.40.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 8th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $126.33 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.225 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 7th. This represents a $0.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is an increase from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s dividend payout ratio is 21.08%.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Profile

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a specialty materials company that develops, manufactures and markets sorbent and filtration products for industrial, environmental and consumer applications. Its flagship offerings include clay- and diatomaceous earth–based cat litters, calcium silicate absorbents for spill control and cleanup, and purification media designed to remove contaminants from petroleum, chemical and food-processing streams.

Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the company has evolved from a single-product operation into a diversified provider of mineral- and chemical-based solutions.