Covea Finance Cuts Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Covea Finance decreased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 33.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,090 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 10,100 shares during the quarter. Covea Finance's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $9,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $333,540,000 after purchasing an additional 696,403 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,863,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,374,000. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 771,198 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $398,324,000 after purchasing an additional 245,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $537.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $535.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $521.32. The company has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.97, a PEG ratio of 4.88 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $515.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $603.86.

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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