Fmr LLC Lowers Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Fmr LLC decreased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,513,656 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,785 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 4.11% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $1,298,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 worth $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2,448.1% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.9% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MLM. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Raymond James decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $626.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 3.0 %

NYSE MLM opened at $470.33 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $500.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $537.21. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $430.00 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.