Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Holdings Trimmed by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Confluence Investment Management reduced its Martin Marietta Materials stake by 6% in the third quarter, selling 3,110 shares and retaining 49,097 shares valued at approximately $23.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.04% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on MLM, with 12 Buy, seven Hold, and one Sell rating and an average price target of $666.12, despite several firms recently lowering their targets.
• MLM shares traded near $477.79, close to their 52-week low, while the company reported quarterly revenue growth of 21% and earnings above estimates. Martin Marietta also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84, or $3.36 annually.

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,097 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,110 shares during the quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $23,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,706,134,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,524,853,000 after buying an additional 836,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,399,779 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,412,702,000 after buying an additional 21,310 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 546,170 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $321,442,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 386,046 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $222,633,000 after buying an additional 46,228 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. DA Davidson assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $625.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $585.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $739.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $666.12.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM traded down $2.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $477.79. 342,400 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,710. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $524.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.02. The company has a market capitalization of $28.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $470.19 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a producer and supplier of construction materials used in infrastructure, commercial, residential, and industrial projects. The company's principal products include crushed stone, sand, gravel, cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt, and related paving materials.

The company serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations concentrated in major markets experiencing demand for transportation infrastructure, building construction, and other development projects.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MLM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.