Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Purchased by Heritage Investors Management Corp

Heritage Investors Management Corp increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,437 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for 1.1% of Heritage Investors Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp owned approximately 0.10% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $34,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 12,625 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,795,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.6% during the third quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.2% during the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,734 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 22,775 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $12,259,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 74,515 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,108,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MLM. Barclays upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $626.92.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $580.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 442,186. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $438.89 and a fifty-two week high of $626.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $542.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $555.68.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 18.09 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

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.