Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Bought by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 56.9% in the first quarter, holding shares worth approximately $1.95 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 18.20%.
• Analysts have generally rated Martin Marietta Materials with a consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $605.93, with UBS raising its target to $634.00.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 56.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,072 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,020 shares of the construction company's stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 993 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 452 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 652 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM traded up $6.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $608.34. 516,618 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 360,898. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.25 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $558.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $527.27. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 18.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $608.40.

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.