First Financial Bankshares Inc Makes New $2.15 Million Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

First Financial Bankshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,414 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,152,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,284,938,000 after buying an additional 565,856 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $233,811,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,389,428,000 after acquiring an additional 192,637 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,442,945 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,691,139,000 after acquiring an additional 93,595 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,825,325 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,550,990,000 after acquiring an additional 56,353 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Truist Financial set a $710.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $605.00 to $575.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $690.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $684.16 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $652.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $629.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The company has a market cap of $41.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.81 by ($0.19). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.79 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.66%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.