Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after buying an additional 188,131 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 3.03% of Orion worth $27,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Orion by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,461,950 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $54,664,000 after buying an additional 602,080 shares in the last quarter. Harvey Partners LLC grew its holdings in Orion by 9.5% in the third quarter. Harvey Partners LLC now owns 1,696,000 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,206,000 after purchasing an additional 146,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Orion by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $23,178,000 after buying an additional 5,378 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Orion by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 960,349 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $15,164,000 after buying an additional 85,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Orion by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 912,652 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $14,265,000 after buying an additional 184,139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.33% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Orion from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Orion Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:OEC traded down $0.06 on Wednesday, reaching $12.59. The stock had a trading volume of 579,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 491,649. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $12.08 and a 12-month high of $26.05. The company has a market cap of $713.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's fifty day moving average is $13.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Orion (NYSE:OEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $434.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $437.03 million. Orion had a return on equity of 20.94% and a net margin of 2.35%. Equities analysts expect that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones acquired 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, with a total value of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Orion Company Profile

Orion SA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings.