Congress Asset Management Co. Cuts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.0%, now holding 246,286 shares valued at approximately $135.2 million, making it 0.9% of their investment portfolio.
• Martin Marietta recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83, an increase from the previous $0.79, with a payout ratio of 18.41% and a dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Despite posting earnings of $5.43 per share for the last quarter, Martin Marietta missed analysts' estimates by $0.01, and had revenue of $1.81 billion, below expectations of $1.88 billion.

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 3.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,286 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,663 shares during the period. Martin Marietta Materials comprises 0.9% of Congress Asset Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.41% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $135,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $607.98 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $604.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $551.51. The company has a market capitalization of $36.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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%. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 declared 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 is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is presently 18.41%.

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.

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