Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $9.44 Million Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 7.8%, owning 19,735 shares valued at $9.43 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Martin Marietta Materials reported $5.43 earnings per share for the recent quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $5.44, with revenue up 2.7% year-over-year.
• Analysts have a Moderate Buy average rating for Martin Marietta Materials, with price targets ranging significantly, including a recent increase to $645.00 by Raymond James Financial.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,735 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 1,434 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $9,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,510,602,000 after purchasing an additional 168,175 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,407,947,000 after acquiring an additional 268,928 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,940,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $927,775,000 after acquiring an additional 120,679 shares during the period. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 771,198 shares of the construction company's stock worth $398,324,000 after purchasing an additional 245,000 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock worth $333,540,000 after purchasing an additional 696,403 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MLM. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price target (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM traded down $2.82 on Friday, hitting $609.68. 302,898 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 430,962. The firm has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $567.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $530.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

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

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.