Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Invests $853,000 in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,783 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $853,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM traded down $17.31 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $535.06. 489,875 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 485,435. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 2.25. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $538.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.24. The company has a market cap of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.07% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 18.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $515.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $603.86.

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.