GDS Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• GDS Wealth Management increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 86.5% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of over 11,000 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Martin Marietta recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.83 per share, up from $0.79, with a dividend yield of 0.5%.
• Several analyst reports maintained positive ratings for Martin Marietta, with price targets ranging from $525 to $700, contributing to an average price target of $622.63.

GDS Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 86.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,083 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 5,141 shares during the period. GDS Wealth Management's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $5,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, August 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Raymond James Financial raised their price target 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, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock traded up $0.8170 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $608.7070. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 476,040. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $573.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $532.84. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23. The stock has a market cap of $36.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated 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 $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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.