Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Sells 902 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 19.8%, selling 902 shares during the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 3,659 shares valued at approximately $1.75 million.
• Multiple institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Martin Marietta Materials, with GAMMA Investing LLC leading with a 58,570.5% increase, now holding about $333.54 million worth of shares.
• Martin Marietta Materials announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.83 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.5%, with the payout ratio currently at 17.53%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 19.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,659 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 902 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,749,000 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $333,540,000 after buying an additional 696,403 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,407,947,000 after purchasing an additional 268,928 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $315,261,000 after purchasing an additional 185,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,510,602,000 after purchasing an additional 168,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MLM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued 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 an average target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:MLM opened at $613.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $441.95 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $566.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $530.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 17.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the business'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 owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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.

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