Apella Capital LLC Invests $4.03 Million in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC has taken a significant new position in Martin Marietta Materials, acquiring 7,246 shares valued at approximately $4.03 million in the second quarter.
• Martin Marietta reported a quarterly EPS of $5.43, slightly missing analysts' estimates, with revenue of $1.81 billion compared to expectations of $1.88 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.83 per share, reflecting a positive change in shareholder returns.

Apella Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,246 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $4,031,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 993 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 652 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, First American Bank increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. First American Bank now owns 1,966 shares of the construction company's stock worth $940,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MLM traded down $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $619.35. 156,212 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 467,040. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.94. The business's 50-day moving average price is $598.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $546.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio is 18.41%.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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.