Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 69,061 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,373,884 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 69,061 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $4,591,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,365,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,491,136,000 after acquiring an additional 25,155 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 411,482 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $259,344,000 after acquiring an additional 5,038 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 352,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $222,044,000 after acquiring an additional 4,071 shares during the period. Finally, Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 232,234 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,939 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MLM. Raymond James Financial set a $690.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson set a $680.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $780.00 to $804.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $640.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $692.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $609.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $618.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $628.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.36. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.31 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The firm has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.19.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.79 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.66%.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

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.