Marshall Wace LLP Sells 73,313 Shares of Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

Marshall Wace LLP trimmed its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 85.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,228 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 73,313 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Orion were worth $193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Orion by 320.4% during the third 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Orion by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 717,377 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $11,327,000 after buying an additional 110,911 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 72.1% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Lake Advisors LLC now owns 69,461 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 29,100 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Orion by 12.1% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,775 shares during the last quarter. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Orion

In other news, VP Carlos Quinones bought 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.07 per share, for a total transaction of $43,131.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 79,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,041,705.14. This represents a 4.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Orion Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:OEC opened at $12.01 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $676.39 million, a P/E ratio of 16.01 and a beta of 1.20. Orion S.A. has a 12-month low of $10.50 and a 12-month high of $26.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $434.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $437.03 million. Analysts predict that Orion S.A. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Orion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 11th will be paid a $0.0207 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 11th. Orion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

OEC has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Orion from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $18.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. 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 report on Thursday, February 20th.

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.