Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 4,253 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 284,887 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,253 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.47% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $147,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in 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 buying an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $196,374,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $477.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $507.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $538.78. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $448.50 and a one year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MLM shares. HSBC upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $628.64.

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.