Avanza Fonder AB Trims Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Avanza Fonder AB cut its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 18.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,491 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,230 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MLM. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM traded down $10.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $541.87. 249,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,711. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.76, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $529.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.86. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

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.