Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MLM. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 151.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 256 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 270.2% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,377 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 7.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 4,670 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MLM. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $583.03 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.90. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $451.37 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $557.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $556.67.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 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 business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.84 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

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.