Bluegrass Capital Partners LP Has $15.78 Million Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Bluegrass Capital Partners LP increased its investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. by 57.1% during the first quarter, now holding approximately 33,000 shares, which make up about 13.5% of its portfolio.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $3.16 and a yield of 0.5%.
• Martin Marietta is currently rated as a "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $608.40, based on analysts' evaluations and reports.

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 57.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,000 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for 13.5% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP owned 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $15,778,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MLM. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $615.60.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 2.0%

MLM traded up $11.79 during trading on Friday, reaching $612.09. The stock had a trading volume of 526,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,897. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average is $561.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $528.57. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.20%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.