T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,918,597 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of OEC. Barclays PLC grew 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 worth $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 72,793 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Orion by 0.4% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Orion by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,672 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 1,775 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Orion by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 606,466 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock worth $10,801,000 after buying an additional 7,586 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Orion by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,911 shares of the specialty chemicals company's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.33% of the company's stock.

Orion Stock Performance

NYSE OEC traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $12.04. 385,176 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 510,915. The firm has a market capitalization of $682.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.25. The business's fifty day moving average is $12.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.89. 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 S.A. has a 12 month low of $10.50 and a 12 month high of $26.05.

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

Orion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. 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 is presently 10.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on OEC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on Orion from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Orion from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In related news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 79,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. The trade was a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.20% of the company's stock.

About Orion

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.