Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Short Interest Update

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) saw a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,640,000 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the February 13th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 505,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.2 days. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $628.64.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Martin Marietta Materials

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $690,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM traded down $1.59 on Thursday, hitting $488.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 122,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 558,672. The company has a market capitalization of $29.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $512.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $539.97. Martin Marietta Materials has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.