Materion (NYSE:MTRN) Trading Down 2%

Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN)’s stock price dropped 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $134.71 and last traded at $136.16. Approximately 17,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 92,441 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Materion from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th.

Materion Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 2.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $127.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.68.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.03. Materion had a net margin of 5.75% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The firm had revenue of $421.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $420.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Materion’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Materion Co. will post 6.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Materion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Materion’s payout ratio is 11.35%.

Insider Activity at Materion

In related news, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total value of $265,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,147 shares in the company, valued at $1,743,292.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.74, for a total transaction of $401,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,940,567.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.60, for a total transaction of $265,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,743,292.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Materion

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Materion by 529.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 195 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Middle East FZE acquired a new position in Materion in the second quarter worth $42,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Materion in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Materion by 285.6% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Materion by 948.2% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.56% of the company’s stock.

About Materion

Materion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates in four segments: Performance Materials, Electronic Materials, Precision Optics, and Other.