Marietta Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC cut its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,709 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Martin Marietta Materials comprises about 1.1% of Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $5,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This 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 company insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $477.49 on Friday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $511.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $539.18. The company has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $628.64.

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.