Bank of America Corp DE Makes New $1.41 Billion Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired a $1.41 billion stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter, purchasing 2.45 million shares and becoming the owner of approximately 4.07% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.04% of MLM.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings, seven Holds and one Sell, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $667.53.
• Martin Marietta beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.00 in EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue, while revenue grew 21% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, a 0.7% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,446,762 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,411,047,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 4.07% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter valued at $71,662,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $663,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,356,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,541,000. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 target price on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $739.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $667.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $501.22 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $491.61 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $30.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $542.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $577.47.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of construction aggregates and other building materials. The company produces crushed stone, sand and gravel used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial construction projects.

Its products and services also include cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and paving materials. Martin Marietta serves customers involved in roads, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure, with operations concentrated across several regions of the United States.

The company was established in 1993 as an independent, publicly traded materials business formed from the construction materials operations of Martin Marietta Corporation.

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