Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Acquires 2,339 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Kornitzer Capital Management increased its Martin Marietta stake 7.9%, buying 2,339 shares to hold 31,830 shares worth about $15.3 million; institutional investors own 95.04% of the stock.
• Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with a $642.60 average price target, despite several recent downgrades and sell ratings.
• Quarterly earnings were mixed: Martin Marietta reported $5.47 per share, below the $5.99 estimate, while revenue rose 28.3% year over year to $2.37 billion.

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,830 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $15,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,706,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,411,047,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $199,321,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $143,897,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at $130,292,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $642.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $517.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $503.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $573.42. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $464.92 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.99 by ($0.52). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 7.96% and a net margin of 31.88%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.85 EPS. The company's revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 16.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.89%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of building materials used in construction and infrastructure projects. Its products include crushed stone, sand and gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.

The company also produces specialty products through its magnesia-based business, including lime, chemicals and products used in industrial and environmental applications. Its construction materials operations serve markets across the United States.

Martin Marietta traces its roots to 1939 and has grown through acquisitions and expansion of its materials operations.

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