T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 60.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,262,608 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock after selling 1,918,597 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 2.19% of Orion worth $19,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 602,080 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Orion by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,186,942 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $34,529,000 after acquiring an additional 233,342 shares during the last quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Orion by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Minneapolis Portfolio Management Group LLC now owns 1,922,698 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $30,359,000 after acquiring an additional 320,157 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Orion by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,747,183 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $27,588,000 after acquiring an additional 188,131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,692,299 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $26,721,000 after purchasing an additional 46,939 shares during the period. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Orion news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This trade represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of OEC opened at $12.03 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $681.55 million, a PE ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 1.25. Orion S.A. has a one year low of $10.50 and a one year high of $26.05.

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

Orion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be given a dividend of $0.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 11th. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Orion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.

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