Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 20.5%, acquiring an additional 5,414 shares during Q1, resulting in a total ownership of approximately 31,872 shares valued at about $15.24 million.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Martin Marietta Materials, with notable upgrades including Raymond James increasing their target to $645.00 and DA Davidson boosting theirs to $700.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• Martin Marietta Materials recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, representing an increase from its previous dividend and highlighting a 17.53% payout ratio.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 20.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,872 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $15,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Mariner LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 9,943 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,135,000 after buying an additional 2,560 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,000. Jump Financial LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the construction company's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Finally, Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $324,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.7%

MLM stock traded up $4.1360 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $606.9660. 374,064 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,820. The company has a market cap of $36.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $569.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $531.58. 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, 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MLM shares. Raymond James Financial lifted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average 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.