United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $1.36 Million in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,360 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,361,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth $2,706,134,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after purchasing an additional 836,120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $1,411,047,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,364 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $963,406,000 after purchasing an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,367,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $851,188,000 after purchasing an additional 68,382 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM opened at $531.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $31.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $562.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $591.20. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $522.19 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%.The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.43 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.84 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 8.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $660.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $616.00 to $581.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $665.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.