Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Sold by Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.

Key Points

• Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 95.8% during the second quarter, selling 123,000 shares and now owning only 5,400 shares worth approximately $2.96 million.
• Despite the selling pressure from Adams, several other investors increased their stakes in Martin Marietta, with institutional ownership reaching 95.04% of the company's stock.
• Martin Marietta Materials has reported a quarterly earnings miss with an EPS of $5.43, slightly below the $5.44 consensus estimate, and set a dividend increase from $0.79 to $0.83 per share.

Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc. lessened its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 95.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,400 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 123,000 shares during the period. Adams Natural Resources Fund Inc.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,205 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $661,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 25.8% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 122 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 1,843 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Willner & Heller LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Willner & Heller LLC now owns 840 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $628.56.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.9%

MLM opened at $632.81 on Wednesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $665.18. The company has a market cap of $38.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $620.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $570.79.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.41%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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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