AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,656 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,553 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $16,350,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 483 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 835 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE:MLM traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $535.18. The stock had a trading volume of 363,892 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,220. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50 day moving average is $487.42 and its 200-day moving average is $529.84.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $491.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $599.69.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was 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.

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.