BNP Paribas Financial Markets Reduces Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• BNP Paribas Financial Markets has reduced its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. by 43.9%, bringing its total shares to 75,196, worth approximately $35.95 million.
• Martin Marietta Materials recently reported a missed earnings estimate of $5.43 EPS for the last quarter, just below the consensus of $5.44, with revenue of $1.81 billion.
• The company has declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.83, payable on September 30th, up from the previous dividend of $0.79.

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 43.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,196 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 58,770 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.12% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $35,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM traded up $8.28 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $619.48. 413,643 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,795. The company has a market cap of $37.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $584.60 and a 200 day moving average of $537.45. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. 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. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MLM. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

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.