Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 10,780 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,165,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MLM. AIA Group Ltd bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth $4,896,000. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $292,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $8,092,000. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,515 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,525,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $296,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM traded down $10.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $517.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,003,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 849,023. The firm has a market cap of $31.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $503.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $573.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $464.92 and a 52 week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.99 by ($0.52). The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.24 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 16.30 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 8.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $634.00 to $629.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $579.00 to $589.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of building materials used in construction and infrastructure projects. Its products include crushed stone, sand and gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.

The company also produces specialty products through its magnesia-based business, including lime, chemicals and products used in industrial and environmental applications. Its construction materials operations serve markets across the United States.

Martin Marietta traces its roots to 1939 and has grown through acquisitions and expansion of its materials operations.