Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Martin Marietta Materials stake by 40.3% in the third quarter, selling 11,619 shares and retaining 17,210 shares valued at approximately $8.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.04% of MLM.
• Martin Marietta reported quarterly EPS of $5.00, beating estimates of $4.76, while revenue rose 21% year over year to $1.95 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $642.65 versus the stock’s reported price of $502.19, although several firms recently lowered their targets.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,210 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,619 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $8,258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MLM. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,706,134,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,411,047,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 546,170 shares of the construction company's stock worth $321,442,000 after buying an additional 5,764 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 386,046 shares of the construction company's stock worth $222,633,000 after buying an additional 46,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $199,321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:MLM opened at $502.19 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $464.92 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $30.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $506.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $556.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.43 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 18.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 8.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $690.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 2nd. DA Davidson raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $610.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $530.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $640.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $642.65.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a supplier of construction materials serving the infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial markets. The company's primary business is aggregates, including crushed stone, sand and gravel used in roads, bridges, buildings and other construction projects.

Martin Marietta also produces cement, ready-mixed concrete and asphalt products, and provides paving and related construction services in selected markets. Through its Magnesia Specialties business, the company manufactures magnesium-based and dolomitic lime products used in industrial, environmental and agricultural applications.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Martin Marietta Materials became an independent publicly traded company in 1993 following a spin-off from Martin Marietta Corporation.

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