Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $347,000 in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, investing approximately $347,000 for 725 shares in the first quarter.
• Recently, various hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Martin Marietta Materials, with institutional investors now owning 95.04% of the company’s stock.
• Analyst ratings for Martin Marietta Materials have improved, with several firms raising their price targets, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $615.60.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 725 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 8,162 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,216,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the construction company's stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $368,000. Finally, F M Investments LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. F M Investments LLC now owns 9,681 shares of the construction company's stock worth $5,000,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM traded down $0.85 on Wednesday, hitting $614.58. 144,664 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,144. The company has a 50 day moving average of $563.99 and a 200-day moving average of $529.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.07 billion, a PE ratio of 34.09, a PEG ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm's revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.