Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Bought by Stephens Inc. AR

Key Points

• Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.8%, acquiring a total of 48,377 shares valued at approximately $26.6 million.
• Major institutional investors, including American Century Companies Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., showed significant growth in their holdings, with American Century increasing by 1,880.3% to own 369,382 shares.
• Martin Marietta Materials recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.83 per share, representing a yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 18.41%.

Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,377 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR owned about 0.08% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $26,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MLM. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,880.3% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $176,613,000 after purchasing an additional 350,729 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,407,947,000 after purchasing an additional 268,928 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $315,261,000 after purchasing an additional 185,731 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,510,602,000 after purchasing an additional 168,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at $73,020,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $621.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $625.84 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.74 billion, a PE ratio of 34.71, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $619.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $569.26. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $441.95 and a 12 month high of $665.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%.The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.

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