Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Cuts Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,455 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $14,181,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $489.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $513.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $540.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $448.50 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy 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 $634.36.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.