Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 374,811 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,598 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.61% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $203,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $203,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,202 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,490 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $520.68 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $389.90 and a 52-week high of $626.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $541.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $568.62.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.36 by ($0.60). The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.80% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The company’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.60 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $629.82.

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.