Gries Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Gries Financial LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 477 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MLM. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.0%

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded up $5.93 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $580.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 169,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 484,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a PEG ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 0.87. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $554.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $523.24. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 18.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $515.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.