MQS Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,623 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its stake in Materion by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 6,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $846,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Materion by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $278,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Materion by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 35,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its stake in Materion by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 18,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,380,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.56% of the company’s stock.

Materion Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MTRN traded up $3.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $118.26. 86,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,197. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.64 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.91. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $110.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $119.46. Materion Co. has a 12 month low of $92.23 and a 12 month high of $145.08.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.98 by ($0.02). Materion had a net margin of 5.19% and a return on equity of 12.32%. The company had revenue of $385.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.84 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Materion Co. will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Materion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a boost from Materion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Materion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.53%.

Insider Activity at Materion

In other Materion news, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total transaction of $226,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,043,092.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Materion news, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 1,152 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total transaction of $128,862.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,185.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.31, for a total value of $226,620.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,031 shares in the company, valued at $2,043,092.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Materion from $156.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Materion from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday.

Materion Profile

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.