Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 18 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co decreased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 786 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MLM. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $26,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 18.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,722 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,513,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth about $670,000. Dohj LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $933,000. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $562.79 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $389.90 and a 1-year high of $626.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $535.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $557.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.91.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $4.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.36 by ($0.60). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.80% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.83 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.60 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $619.36.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries.