KBC Group NV Has $40.57 Million Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 607.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,377 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,722 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $40,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 114.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 980,699 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $602,092,000 after buying an additional 523,038 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $251,784,000 after buying an additional 164,503 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $80,634,000 after buying an additional 106,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,142,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $587.96 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $554.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $556.80. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $451.37 and a one year high of $633.23. The stock has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MLM. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas raised Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.85.

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.