Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Purchases 27,839 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 52.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 81,029 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,839 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $50,453,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,784 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,517 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 522 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,502 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,784,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 59,965 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,338,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 4.0%

MLM stock opened at $533.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.13. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $525.38 and a one year high of $710.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $596.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $624.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.28.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLM. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $785.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. DA Davidson set a $680.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Zacks Research raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $740.00 to $735.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $804.00 to $731.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $689.81.

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.