Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Stock Holdings Trimmed by Apella Capital LLC

Key Points

• Apella Capital cut its Martin Marietta Materials stake by 42.3% in the third quarter, leaving it with 3,465 shares valued at approximately $1.66 million. Institutional investors collectively own 95.04% of MLM’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 12 Buy ratings, seven Holds, and one Sell. The stock has an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $646.47, well above its reported $478.12 share price.
• Martin Marietta exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $5.00 in EPS versus the $4.76 consensus and $1.95 billion in revenue, up 21% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.84 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% annual yield.

Apella Capital LLC reduced its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,465 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,536 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth about $2,706,134,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,448,928 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,524,853,000 after acquiring an additional 836,120 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,411,047,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 5,764 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 13.6% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 46,228 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $585.00 to $579.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research set a $648.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $680.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $646.47.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $478.12 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $470.19 and a 52 week 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 $28.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.08. The company's 50-day moving average price is $513.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $560.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.43 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 8.26%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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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