4,736 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 124,654 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 4,736 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $59,810,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,706,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,399,779 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,412,702,000 after acquiring an additional 21,310 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 546,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $321,442,000 after acquiring an additional 5,764 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 386,046 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $222,633,000 after acquiring an additional 46,228 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $199,321,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $544.16 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $502.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $575.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $32.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.02. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $464.92 and a 12 month high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $690.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $610.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.05.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a supplier of construction materials serving the infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial markets. The company’s primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel used in roads, bridges, buildings and other construction projects.

Martin Marietta also produces cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt products, and provides paving and related construction services in selected markets. Through its Magnesia Specialties business, the company manufactures magnesium-based and dolomitic lime products used in industrial, environmental and agricultural applications.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martin Marietta Materials became an independent publicly traded company in 1993 following a spin-off from Martin Marietta Corporation.