Confluence Investment Management LLC Sells 4,648 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,207 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,648 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $30,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth $37,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $542.86 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $577.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $605.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $523.48 and a one year high of $710.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.11.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.43 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 8.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MLM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $616.00 to $581.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price target on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $669.71.

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.