Korea Investment CORP Grows Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,290 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,730 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $20,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.3 %

MLM stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $507.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $538.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $448.50 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on MLM shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.