American Century Companies Inc. Has $176.61 Million Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. significantly increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, raising its ownership by 1,880.3% with a total of 369,382 shares valued at approximately $176.6 million.
• Martin Marietta recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.43, which fell short of analyst expectations, and experienced a year-over-year revenue growth of 2.7%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.83 from the previous $0.79, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.5%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 1,880.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 350,729 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.61% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $176,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 6,379 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,091,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 20.5% during the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 31,872 shares of the construction company's stock worth $15,239,000 after purchasing an additional 5,414 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 82.6% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 28,691 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,675,000 after purchasing an additional 12,979 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.2% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 877 shares of the construction company's stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 307.5% during the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 12,909 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,172,000 after purchasing an additional 9,741 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.5%

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded down $9.0480 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $598.7120. The stock had a trading volume of 199,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,028. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $569.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $531.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $441.95 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released 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). 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 analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.76 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 18.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

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.