Fayez Sarofim & Co Sells 450 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Fayez Sarofim & Co has reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.8%, bringing their total shares to 1,440, valued at approximately $689,000.
• Several other institutional investors have also made significant adjustments to their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by 58,570.5%, now owning 697,592 shares worth $333.54 million.
• Martin Marietta Materials recently reported earnings of $5.43 per share, slightly below analysts' estimates, with revenues of $1.81 billion, missing projections of $1.88 billion.

Fayez Sarofim & Co lessened its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 23.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,440 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $312,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $368,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM stock traded down $10.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $600.56. 473,296 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 484,112. The company has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.31, a PEG ratio of 5.58 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $561.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%. The company's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the firm'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 value of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLM. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $620.88.

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.