First Financial Bankshares Inc Buys Shares of 3,414 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

First Financial Bankshares Inc bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,414 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,152,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 62.2% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 60 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on MLM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. DA Davidson set a $680.00 price target on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $690.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $684.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.26 billion, a PE ratio of 36.39, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $652.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $629.81.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.38% and a return on equity of 10.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.79 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.