Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 8,639 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,634 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 8,639 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.16% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $49,928,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,705,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $939,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191,043 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after buying an additional 148,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $474,370,000 after buying an additional 916,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $477.92 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $448.50 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $507.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $538.34. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. 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 (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MLM. BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.