JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has $1.41 Billion Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. has increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1%, holding a total of 2,944,694 shares worth approximately $1.41 billion.
• Martin Marietta recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, representing a yield of 0.5% and a low payout ratio of 18.20%.
• Bank of America and other analysts have raised their price targets for Martin Marietta, with the current average target price set at $615.60 and a rating of "Moderate Buy."

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 268,928 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 4.88% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $1,407,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 993 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 652 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM traded down $10.75 during trading on Thursday, hitting $609.34. The company had a trading volume of 208,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 482,600. The company has a market cap of $36.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The business's 50-day moving average is $565.40 and its 200 day moving average is $529.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.