Materion (NYSE:MTRN) Stock Price Up 5.3% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $106.01 and last traded at $105.04. 7,102 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 81,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.74.

The basic materials company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.43 by $0.12. Materion had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 0.35%. The firm had revenue of $436.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $433.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Materion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.135 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 20th. This represents a $0.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Materion's dividend payout ratio is 186.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 805 shares of Materion stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.24, for a total value of $81,498.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,481,343.68. This trade represents a 5.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Materion

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Materion by 307.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 261 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its position in Materion by 118.7% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 562 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Materion in the third quarter valued at $85,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Materion by 54.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 882 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.56% of the company's stock.

Materion Trading Down 4.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 329.33 and a beta of 1.23. The business's 50 day moving average price is $100.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.77. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

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.