State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. by 10.7% during the first quarter, owning 20,459 shares valued at approximately $9.78 million.
• Equity research analysts have generally upgraded their ratings for Martin Marietta Materials, with DA Davidson raising the price target from $625.00 to $700.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Martin Marietta Materials announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.83, reflecting a yearly dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 17.53%.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,459 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,456 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $9,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company's stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 993 shares of the construction company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc lifted its position 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 worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 652 shares of the construction company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MLM. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.0%

MLM stock traded up $6.2940 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $607.0340. 363,773 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 433,691. The company has a market cap of $36.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $573.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $532.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.41%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently 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.