Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Purchased by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,209 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,903 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.07% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $27,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth about $233,811,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 9.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,204,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,389,428,000 after acquiring an additional 192,637 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,570.3% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 108,167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $68,175,000 after acquiring an additional 115,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 748.5% in the third quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 124,963 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $78,762,000 after acquiring an additional 110,236 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MLM. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $740.00 to $735.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. B. Riley Financial started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, January 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $700.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $631.00 to $612.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $630.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.0%

MLM stock opened at $561.90 on Monday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $710.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $647.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $631.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.13.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($0.19). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.79 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.