Synovus Financial Corp Trims Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 73.0%, ending the quarter with 2,555 shares valued at $1.22 million.
• Several hedge funds significantly increased their positions in Martin Marietta, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its stake by 58,570.5%, now owning 697,592 shares worth $333.54 million.
• Martin Marietta announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.79 to $0.83, representing a 0.5% yield, with the ex-dividend date on September 2nd.

Synovus Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 73.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,555 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,921 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock worth $333,540,000 after acquiring an additional 696,403 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,880.3% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock worth $176,613,000 after acquiring an additional 350,729 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,407,947,000 after acquiring an additional 268,928 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 771,198 shares of the construction company's stock worth $398,324,000 after acquiring an additional 245,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% during the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock worth $315,261,000 after acquiring an additional 185,731 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MLM traded up $4.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $616.35. The stock had a trading volume of 368,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,548. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $581.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $536.40. The firm has a market cap of $37.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.94.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is presently 17.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MLM. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.