Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Fmr LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,513,656 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,785 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,298,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. Atika Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 47,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after buying an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 6,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 110,943 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $57,375,000 after purchasing an additional 48,080 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $312,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,590,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $470.33 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The firm has a market cap of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $500.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $537.21. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $430.00 and a 1-year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

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.