Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 46,826 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 81.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,846 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 46,826 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Orion were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Orion by 148.2% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 151,205 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $2,693,000 after purchasing an additional 90,292 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 320.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,512 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 72,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Orion by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,301,158 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $23,178,000 after purchasing an additional 5,378 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Orion by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 717,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $11,327,000 after buying an additional 110,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC grew its stake in Orion by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 69,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 29,100 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones purchased 3,300 shares of Orion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the purchase, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Orion Stock Down 1.3 %

OEC traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $12.07. 107,656 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 506,810. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $13.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.03. Orion S.A. has a twelve month low of $10.50 and a twelve month high of $26.05. The stock has a market cap of $683.53 million, a P/E ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.24.

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

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Orion's payout ratio is presently 10.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on OEC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Thursday.

Orion 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.