Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Makes New $10.39 Million Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. has acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., purchasing 21,739 shares valued at approximately $10.39 million.
• Analysts have recently increased their price targets for the company's stock, with DA Davidson proposing a new target of $700.00 and Bank of America raising theirs to $643.00.
• Martin Marietta Materials reported earnings of $5.43 per share for the last quarter, slightly missing analysts' expectations, while also announcing an increase in their quarterly dividend to $0.83 per share.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,739 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $10,394,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock worth $333,540,000 after purchasing an additional 696,403 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,880.3% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock worth $176,613,000 after purchasing an additional 350,729 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,407,947,000 after buying an additional 268,928 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $315,261,000 after buying an additional 185,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,510,602,000 after buying an additional 168,175 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MLM shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM traded down $14.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $616.61. 331,389 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 361,376. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $594.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $542.90.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 18.41%.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.