Nomura Holdings Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Nomura Holdings Inc. has reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 35.1%, selling 1,044 shares, and now holds 1,927 shares valued at approximately $921,000.
• Martin Marietta Materials recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.79 to $0.83 per share, reflecting a positive change in its annualized dividend yield to 0.5%.
• Recent earnings report showed a missed consensus estimate with EPS of $5.43 compared to expectations of $5.44, and revenue of $1.81 billion, below the anticipated $1.88 billion.

Nomura Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 35.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,927 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,044 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 257.8% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,077,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 125,554 shares of the construction company's stock worth $64,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,820 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 87.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 133,966 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $69,193,000 after acquiring an additional 62,687 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,609 shares of the construction company's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,978 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,571,000 after purchasing an additional 1,796 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MLM. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $525.00 price objective (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM traded up $1.46 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $624.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 194,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,052. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $587.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $539.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.94.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 18.41%.

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.