California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 51,003,553 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its Martin Marietta Materials stake by acquiring 51.0 million shares, bringing its total to 51.1 million shares valued at approximately $29.45 billion, or 85.02% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $665.88, although recent coverage included underweight and sell downgrades.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while year-over-year revenue grew 21%; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, representing a 0.7% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 72,704.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,073,705 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 51,003,553 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 85.02% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $29,454,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 67 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 495 shares of the construction company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the construction company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $660.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $665.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $516.12 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $551.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $583.61. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $502.56 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The company has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.43 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 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 Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc NYSE: MLM is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.

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