National Pension Service Boosts Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 18.6%, acquiring an additional 13,051 shares, resulting in ownership of 83,298 shares valued at approximately $39.8 million.
• Martin Marietta reported $5.43 earnings per share for the last quarter, slightly missing analyst estimates, while revenue was up 2.7% year-over-year, totaling $1.81 billion.
• The company declared an increased quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, up from $0.79, with a dividend yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 17.53%.

National Pension Service increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,298 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 13,051 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.14% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $39,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock traded up $0.1150 on Thursday, hitting $600.7150. 95,497 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 477,739. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $570.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $532.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 EPS. The company's 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, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is presently 17.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.69% 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.