Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Holdings in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its holdings in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,222,466 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 30,462 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 5.92% of Materion worth $159,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Materion by 529.0% in the 4th 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. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Materion by 285.6% during 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. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Materion in the 4th quarter valued at about $137,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Materion by 189.6% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,222 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Materion during the 4th quarter valued at about $195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.56% of the company's stock.

Materion Stock Performance

Shares of MTRN traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $117.02. 102,055 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 101,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 2.91. Materion Co. has a 1-year low of $92.23 and a 1-year high of $145.08. The business's 50 day moving average price is $122.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33 and a beta of 1.17.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $385.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $386.84 million. Materion had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 5.19%. Materion's revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Materion Co. will post 5.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Materion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.135 per share. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from Materion's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. Materion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, KeyCorp lowered their target price on Materion from $156.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 1,152 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $293,185.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 directly owns 14,510 shares in the company, valued at $1,940,567.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Emily M. Liggett sold 1,152 shares of Materion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.86, for a total value of $128,862.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $293,185.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,152 shares of company stock worth $1,021,903. 2.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.