Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Stock Position in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America $ODC

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. increased its stake in Oil-Dri Corporation by 99.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately 5.48% of the company, valued at $36.7 million.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Royce & Associates, also significantly boosted their positions in Oil-Dri Corporation, highlighting increased institutional interest.
• Oil-Dri Corporation recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.18 per share, up from $0.16, reflecting a 1.2% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 21.18%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC - Free Report) by 99.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 799,112 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 398,056 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned about 5.48% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America worth $36,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 119.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 612,195 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $28,112,000 after buying an additional 333,053 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 102.4% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 336,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,429,000 after buying an additional 170,000 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 126.4% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 331,083 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,203,000 after buying an additional 184,844 shares in the last quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 280,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $24,539,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America by 99.5% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 165,200 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $7,586,000 after buying an additional 82,400 shares in the last quarter. 49.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE ODC opened at $58.71 on Tuesday. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a 12 month low of $32.06 and a 12 month high of $63.82. The company has a 50-day moving average of $58.74 and a 200-day moving average of $50.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $859.51 million, a P/E ratio of 17.27 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Oil-Dri Corporation Of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.18%.

Insider Transactions at Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $175,798. The trade was a 25.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher B. Lamson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.75, for a total value of $154,375.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $354,570. 11.66% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 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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