Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Bought by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 40,924 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $25,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 93,595 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,955,139 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,622,254,000 after buying an additional 10,445 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.0% in 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 buying an additional 56,353 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 192,637 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE MLM opened at $607.49 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $656.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.57. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $441.95 and a twelve month high of $710.97. The stock has a market cap of $36.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.31, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.13.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.66 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 10.86%. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $706.00 to $702.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. B. Riley Financial started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $631.00 to $612.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $696.88.

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.