Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% in the first quarter, selling 76,804 shares but still holding about 2.09 million shares worth roughly $1.23 billion.
• Martin Marietta Materials shares were down 1.4% to $569.59, and the stock remains well below its 52-week high of $710.97. The company has a market value of about $34.2 billion and trades at a P/E of 13.57.
• The company beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting $1.93 EPS on $1.36 billion in revenue, with revenue up 17.2% year over year. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $682.41.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,093,942 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 76,804 shares during the period. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for about 0.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 3.47% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $1,232,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 14,332.7% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 77,792 shares of the construction company's stock worth $48,438,000 after buying an additional 77,253 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 44,209 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,527,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 66.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,316 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,801,000 after acquiring an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 411,482 shares of the construction company's stock worth $259,344,000 after acquiring an additional 5,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,753 shares of the construction company's stock worth $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $569.59 on Tuesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.38 and a 1-year high of $710.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $580.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $614.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $614.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $682.41.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc NYSE: MLM is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.

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