Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Buys 5,586 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,374 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,586 shares during the period. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for approximately 1.6% of Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $26,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,850,912 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,636,848,000 after acquiring an additional 105,535 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,042,537 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $838,421,000 after buying an additional 181,136 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 225.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,833,959 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $752,803,000 after buying an additional 1,270,116 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,286,937 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $455,900,000 after purchasing an additional 27,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 919,179 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $353,783,000 after purchasing an additional 70,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Martin Marietta Materials news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total value of $9,063,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $596.99. 165,398 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,821. The company has a market cap of $36.91 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.96. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $343.79 and a 52-week high of $626.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $580.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $621.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.69.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries.