368 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Acquired by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 368 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE MLM opened at $636.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $613.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $560.80. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $640.00. The company has a market capitalization of $38.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $621.69.

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.