Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC)

Key Points

• Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired 5,000 shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, valued at approximately $230,000, marking a new position for the firm in the specialty chemicals sector.
• Several institutional investors, including Royce & Associates LP and Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc., recently increased their stakes in Oil-Dri Corporation, indicating growing confidence in the company.
• Oil-Dri Corporation has declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.18 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders, with the ex-dividend date set for August 8th.

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royce & Associates LP lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 102.4% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 336,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,429,000 after purchasing an additional 170,000 shares during the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 280,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $24,539,000 after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 42.1% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 139,092 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $6,387,000 after purchasing an additional 41,212 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 132,412 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,605,000 after acquiring an additional 7,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 112,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $9,834,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 49.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.75, for a total transaction of $154,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,222.75. The trade was a 17.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Amy Ryan sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.62, for a total transaction of $60,620.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $175,798. This represents a 25.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $354,570. Company insiders own 11.66% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 22nd.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Price Performance

Shares of ODC opened at $57.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $836.02 million, a PE ratio of 16.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company's fifty day moving average price is $56.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.78. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 1-year low of $31.11 and a 1-year high of $63.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 5th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $115.50 million during the quarter. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America had a net margin of 10.44% and a return on equity of 21.57%.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's payout ratio is currently 18.24%.

Oil-Dri Corporation 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.

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