Magnetar Financial LLC Cuts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Magnetar Financial LLC reduced its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 52.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,440 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,615 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 38.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 572 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,958 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 13,383 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,912,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,783,000. Finally, RD Lewis Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MLM. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.3 %

MLM stock opened at $477.49 on Friday. 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 $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a PEG 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $511.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $539.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

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

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.