Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $143.90 Million Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 249,518 shares of Martin Marietta Materials worth approximately $143.9 million, giving it a 0.42% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 95.04% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $665.29, despite recent target reductions from some firms.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $5.00 EPS and $1.95 billion in revenue, while increasing its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share.

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 249,518 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $143,897,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.42% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MLM. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 370.0% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 47 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Raymond James Financial set a $660.00 price objective on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $648.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $665.29.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.7%

MLM stock opened at $528.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.75 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $564.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $591.62. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $522.19 and a 52 week high of $710.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.43 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.16%.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc NYSE: MLM is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.

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