AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Acquires New Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs has acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., purchasing 3,371 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million.
• Martin Marietta recently reported earnings per share of $5.43, missing analysts' estimates slightly, with quarterly revenue of $1.81 billion reflecting a 2.7% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.83, payable on September 30th, up from the previous dividend of $0.79.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,371 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,612,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $333,540,000 after purchasing an additional 696,403 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,880.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $176,613,000 after purchasing an additional 350,729 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 268,928 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 185,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,510,602,000 after acquiring an additional 168,175 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock traded up $13.63 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $623.32. The company had a trading volume of 91,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,472. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.58, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average of $597.06 and a 200 day moving average of $545.46. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

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