Sciencast Management LP Acquires Shares of 5,708 Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,708 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,948,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 25,242 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,037,000 after buying an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 431.3% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,391 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2,448.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 3,446 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

NYSE 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 stock has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a PEG 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 200 day moving average is $539.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MLM shares. Raymond James cut their price objective 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. Stephens reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 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 for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $628.64.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.