Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,897 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $4,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schear Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.6% during the third quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $533,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $432,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 4.5%

NYSE:MLM opened at $667.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $622.28 and a 200-day moving average of $608.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.15. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $667.66.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.62 by ($0.65). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $637.00 to $681.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $754.00 to $758.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.67.

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.