Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors acquired 200,313 shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter, valued at approximately $115.5 million and representing about 0.33% of the company. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.04% of MLM.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.53, despite several recent target reductions. MLM shares opened at $524.52, near their 52-week low.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.00 in EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue, up 21% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, or $3.36 annualized.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 200,313 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $115,521,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,706,134,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after buying an additional 836,120 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $354,681,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.9% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,340,677 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,284,938,000 after purchasing an additional 565,856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth about $199,321,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $737.00 to $690.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $739.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $616.00 to $581.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $668.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $524.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50-day moving average is $571.62 and its 200-day moving average is $598.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.41. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $522.19 and a 52-week high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%.The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.43 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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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