Patton Fund Management Inc. Takes $239,000 Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. has acquired a $239,000 stake in Martin Marietta Materials by purchasing 436 shares, signaling growing interest in the construction sector.
• The company recently reported a quarterly EPS of $5.43, slightly below analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $1.81 billion, which was also below expectations.
• Martin Marietta Materials declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83, a rise from the previous $0.79, demonstrating the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 436 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MLM. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1,880.3% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,382 shares of the construction company's stock worth $176,613,000 after acquiring an additional 350,729 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,944,694 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,407,947,000 after acquiring an additional 268,928 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 39.2% during the 1st quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 659,363 shares of the construction company's stock worth $315,261,000 after acquiring an additional 185,731 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,342,358 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,510,602,000 after acquiring an additional 168,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth about $73,020,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MLM opened at $614.18 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $605.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $553.77. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.76 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.

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