This Insider Has Just Sold Shares In Materion

Anyone interested in Materion Corporation (NYSE:MTRN) should probably be aware that the VP, General Counsel & Secretary, Gregory Chemnitz, recently divested US$235k worth of shares in the company, at an average price of US$118 each. The eyebrow raising move amounted to a reduction of 10% in their holding.

View our latest analysis for Materion

Materion Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider sale was by the CEO, President & Director, Jugal Vijayvargiya, for US$2.2m worth of shares, at about US$113 per share. That means that an insider was selling shares at slightly below the current price (US$120). As a general rule we consider it to be discouraging when insiders are selling below the current price, because it suggests they were happy with a lower valuation. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. We note that the biggest single sale was only 18% of Jugal Vijayvargiya's holding.

Insiders in Materion didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of small cap stocks that are not only being bought by insiders but also have attractive valuations.

Does Materion Boast High Insider Ownership?

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Insiders own 1.3% of Materion shares, worth about US$33m. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Materion Insiders?

An insider sold Materion shares recently, but they didn't buy any. And there weren't any purchases to give us comfort, over the last year. Insiders own shares, but we're still pretty cautious, given the history of sales. We're in no rush to buy! In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing Materion. For example, Materion has 2 warning signs (and 1 which is potentially serious) we think you should know about.

But note: Materion may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.