Voloridge Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN - Free Report) by 155.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 5,798 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC's holdings in Materion were worth $941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MTRN. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Materion by 269.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 436 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Materion by 54.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in Materion by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Materion during the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Materion by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.56% of the company's stock.

Materion Price Performance

MTRN stock traded up $2.51 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.79. 123,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 107,330. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 268.25 and a beta of 0.85. Materion Co. has a 52-week low of $69.10 and a 52-week high of $123.21. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.43.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $420.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $396.83 million. Materion had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 0.35%. Materion's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Materion Co. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Materion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Materion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Materion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 112.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.45, for a total transaction of $160,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,376 shares in the company, valued at $1,076,099.20. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Materion in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

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.