Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.69 Million Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,273 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,691,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $1,783,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,799,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 438,202 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $226,331,000 after purchasing an additional 22,727 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 835 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $477.49 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $511.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $539.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.