ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Takes $674,000 Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. invested approximately $674,000 in Martin Marietta Materials by purchasing 1,410 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Martin Marietta Materials, highlighting a growing interest among institutional investors, who currently own 95.04% of the stock.
• Martin Marietta's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $5.43, slightly missing the consensus estimate, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 2.7%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,410 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $674,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock traded up $16.71 on Tuesday, hitting $616.64. 477,943 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 430,598. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $37.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $563.99 and a 200-day moving average of $529.26.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 17.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MLM. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson boosted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $622.63.

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.