Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,788 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,580 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $15,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% in the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 84.6% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 61 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MLM. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up previously from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.69.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,357,566.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total value of $6,032,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at $36,179,301.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

MLM opened at $594.68 on Wednesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $343.79 and a one year high of $626.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $589.77 and its 200-day moving average is $513.61. The company has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a PE ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.04 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

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.