JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 268,928 Shares of 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 holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 10.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 268,928 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 4.88% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $1,407,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of MLM opened at $612.09 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $561.39 and a 200 day moving average of $528.42. The company has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. UBS Group raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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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