Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,899 Shares of Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Materion Co. (NYSE:MTRN - Free Report) by 8.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 98,246 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 8,899 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Materion worth $10,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Materion by 25,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 257 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Materion during the third quarter worth about $85,000. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in Materion in the second quarter worth about $225,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Materion during the second quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Materion during the third quarter valued at approximately $259,000. 93.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Materion Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MTRN traded down $0.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $99.50. The company had a trading volume of 70,052 shares, compared to its average volume of 98,975. Materion Co. has a 52 week low of $96.18 and a 52 week high of $145.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 3.15. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $110.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.88.

Materion (NYSE:MTRN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.41. Materion had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 4.45%. The business had revenue of $436.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $416.40 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Materion Co. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Materion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.135 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Materion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.21%.

Insider Transactions at Materion

In other Materion news, CFO Shelly Marie Chadwick sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.92, for a total value of $115,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 13,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,530,144. The trade was a 7.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory R. Chemnitz sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.57, for a total transaction of $235,140.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,031 shares in the company, valued at $1,414,484.67. This represents a 14.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.30% of the company's stock.

Materion Company 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.