Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 6.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,881 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $9,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,524,853,000 after buying an additional 836,120 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,284,938,000 after buying an additional 565,856 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,553,364 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $963,406,000 after acquiring an additional 10,743 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,367,016 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $851,188,000 after acquiring an additional 68,382 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 769,904 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $479,389,000 after acquiring an additional 65,623 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.4%

MLM opened at $569.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $34.21 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $525.38 and a twelve month high of $710.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $577.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $608.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MLM. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $690.00 to $675.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $681.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.