Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 8,704 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,626 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.10% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $32,346,000 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. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% in the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $307,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $477.92 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $507.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $538.78. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. 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 $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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following 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 currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

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.