34,838 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 34,838 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $17,994,000. Woodline Partners LP owned approximately 0.06% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 866 shares of the construction company's stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 808 shares of the construction company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 635 shares of the construction company's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MLM. Loop Capital dropped 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stephens dropped 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 research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $610.69.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company'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 directly owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM stock traded up $4.39 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $566.11. 131,305 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 518,307. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $509.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $526.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

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.