Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 24.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,100 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $11,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MLM. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $648.71.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $546.39 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $490.05 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $548.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $551.33.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.94 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.57 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

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.