Capital Investment Counsel Inc Cuts Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Capital Investment Counsel Inc lowered its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,498 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,042,537 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $838,421,000 after purchasing an additional 181,136 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 225.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,833,959 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $752,803,000 after buying an additional 1,270,116 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 615,467 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $252,637,000 after acquiring an additional 22,391 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,193 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $234,053,000 after buying an additional 104,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 423,953 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $211,103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,292 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MLM shares. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, January 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Martin Marietta Materials from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $588.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total value of $6,032,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $6,032,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760 over the last 90 days. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.2 %

MLM stock traded up $1.43 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $606.42. The stock had a trading volume of 49,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,045. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $593.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $517.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The firm has a market cap of $37.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.96. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $361.23 and a 12-month high of $626.67.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 15.72%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.