CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Purchases 3,041 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,909 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,041 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $18,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 483 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 633 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MLM. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $599.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $493.92 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $486.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $532.54. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $29.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

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.