William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $61.73 Million Stock Holdings in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Orion S.A. (NYSE:OEC) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,624,526 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after acquiring an additional 304,372 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 4.50% of Orion worth $61,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of OEC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Orion by 27.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 757,944 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $16,129,000 after acquiring an additional 161,691 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Orion by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,618,627 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $34,444,000 after purchasing an additional 89,319 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC bought a new position in Orion during the 4th quarter worth $247,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Orion by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 138,930 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $3,853,000 after purchasing an additional 12,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Orion during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. 94.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Orion news, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total transaction of $201,064.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,336.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Orion news, VP Sandra Niewiem sold 8,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.21, for a total transaction of $201,064.05. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,336.79. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Carlos Quinones bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.51 per share, for a total transaction of $94,040.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 69,702 shares in the company, valued at $1,638,694.02. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OEC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on Orion from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. StockNews.com raised Orion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $26.25.

Orion Stock Performance

Shares of Orion stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $23.77. 606,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 382,912. Orion S.A. has a 12 month low of $19.32 and a 12 month high of $28.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 1.53.

Orion (NYSE:OEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The specialty chemicals company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $502.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $506.38 million. Orion had a return on equity of 21.07% and a net margin of 4.64%. Orion’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Orion S.A. will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Orion Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $0.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Orion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.41%.

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.