Hsbc Holdings PLC Cuts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Hsbc Holdings PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 104,934 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17,329 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $65,470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,524,853,000 after purchasing an additional 836,120 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $354,681,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% during 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 241.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 303,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,686,000 after buying an additional 214,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interval Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $128,996,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MLM opened at $610.87 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $588.96 and its 200 day moving average is $618.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.28. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.38 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MLM. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group set a $739.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Sunday, May 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $681.94.

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.