Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Acquired by Prosperity Financial Group Inc.

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 567 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.1% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 615 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at $269,000. Patron Partners LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.1% in the third quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 535 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 136,970 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,724,000 after buying an additional 2,066 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $464.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $448.50 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $516.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $542.07.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.36.

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.