DnB Asset Management AS Buys 209 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,877 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $6,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in 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 buying an additional 704,460 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $196,374,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MLM shares. BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $477.92 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $507.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $538.78. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $448.50 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

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.