Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Acquired by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,773 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,074 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the fourth 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. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $196,374,000. Finally, Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $477.92 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $538.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $448.50 and a 1-year 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company 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.