Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA:XLB) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $50.48 and last traded at $50.03, with a volume of 13898793 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.97.

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund Price Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.55 and a beta of 1.03.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zullo Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc. now owns 43,816 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,987,000 after purchasing an additional 22,413 shares during the last quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 99.2% in the 4th quarter. CWC Advisors LLC. now owns 24,578 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 12,240 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 566.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 140,670 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $6,379,000 after acquiring an additional 119,550 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 79.0% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,775 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund by 116.9% during the fourth quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 253,261 shares of the exchange traded fund’s stock valued at $11,486,000 after purchasing an additional 136,508 shares during the period. 75.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund

Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (the Fund) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index (the Index). The Index includes companies involved in such industries as chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging, and construction materials. The Fund’s investment advisor is SSgA Funds Management, Inc