462 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Purchased by Heritage Trust Co

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 462 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,705,466,000 after acquiring an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in 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 buying an additional 506,705 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,898,000 after buying an additional 191,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake 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 worth $808,005,000 after buying an additional 148,065 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,472,411 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $758,499,000 after acquiring an additional 32,082 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $491.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $490.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $533.79. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The firm has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $609.43.

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.