Cannell & Co. Acquires 2,500 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Cannell & Co. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 155.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,110 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Beck Bode LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 107.0% in the fourth quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 5,993 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 3,098 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,169 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 923 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $716,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Marco Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $237,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MLM stock opened at $590.86 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $361.33 and a 52-week high of $626.67. The stock has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $596.80 and a 200-day moving average of $520.00.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.05. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 31.35% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 8.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $600.00 price objective (up from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total transaction of $936,959.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 59,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 in the last quarter. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.