JT Stratford LLC Invests $722,000 in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• JT Stratford LLC has made a new investment in Martin Marietta Materials, purchasing 1,510 shares valued at approximately $722,000.
• Analysts have issued various ratings for Martin Marietta Materials, with Bank of America raising its price target from $577 to $643 and maintaining a "neutral" rating.
• Martin Marietta Materials has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.83 per share, reflecting a change from its previous dividend of $0.79.

JT Stratford LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,510 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $235,000. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the construction company's stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 65.5% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 278 shares of the construction company's stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,007 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,457,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 30.5% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 933 shares of the construction company's stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. 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 that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.1%

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded up $0.86 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $608.75. 64,741 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,011. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's 50 day moving average is $573.18 and its 200-day moving average is $532.84.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

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.