Invesco Ltd. Trims Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. has decreased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2%, selling 19,394 shares and retaining a total of 854,235 shares worth approximately $408.4 million.
• Martin Marietta Materials has reported earnings per share of $5.43 for the latest quarter, slightly missing estimates, while revenue increased by 2.7% year-over-year, totaling $1.81 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79, providing an annualized yield of 0.5% and reflecting a payout ratio of 17.53%.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 854,235 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 19,394 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.42% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $408,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM traded down $6.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $613.18. 364,975 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,849. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $565.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $529.88. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.