Korea Investment CORP Increases Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,290 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,730 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $20,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $196,374,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MLM. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $628.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $507.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $538.56. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

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.