Nuveen LLC Buys New Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC purchased 152,719 shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., valued at approximately $73 million, representing about 0.25% ownership as of its latest filing.
• Martin Marietta reported earnings of $5.43 per share for the quarter, slightly missing expectations, with revenue of $1.81 billion up 2.7% year-over-year.
• The consensus rating for Martin Marietta Materials is a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $622.63, reflecting positive outlook among analysts.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 152,719 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $73,020,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% in 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,407,947,000 after purchasing an additional 268,928 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% in the first quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock worth $315,261,000 after purchasing an additional 185,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in 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 worth $3,510,602,000 after purchasing an additional 168,175 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total transaction of $636,626.16. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE:MLM traded down $2.82 on Friday, hitting $609.68. The stock had a trading volume of 302,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,962. The stock has a market cap of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $567.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $530.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MLM shares. 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. UBS Group upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $622.63.

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.