Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Sold by Congress Asset Management Co.

Key Points

• Congress Asset Management cut its Martin Marietta Materials stake by 42.8% in the third quarter, selling 26,092 shares and retaining 34,858 shares worth approximately $16.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own about 95.04% of MLM.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $654.88. Twelve analysts rate the stock a Buy, compared with seven Holds and one Sell.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.00 in EPS versus the $4.76 consensus and revenue of $1.95 billion, up 21% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 42.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,858 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 26,092 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned approximately 0.06% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $16,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 477 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.8% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at $104,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 292.6% during the third quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 106 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MLM. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $739.00 to $715.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson initiated 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 for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $654.88.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $489.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $29.39 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $517.69 and a 200-day moving average of $562.33. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $470.19 and a one year high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.43 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.77 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.84 per share. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.

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