Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 1,096 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. by 20.6% in the first quarter, holding 4,215 shares valued at approximately $2.02 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their positions, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by 58,570.5%, now owning 697,592 shares worth $333.54 million.
• Martin Marietta Materials declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, up from $0.79, indicating a yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 17.53%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 20.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,215 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,096 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 purchasing an additional 168,175 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,407,947,000 after buying an additional 268,928 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,940,423 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $927,775,000 after buying an additional 120,679 shares in the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 771,198 shares of the construction company's stock worth $398,324,000 after buying an additional 245,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 58,570.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 697,592 shares of the construction company's stock worth $333,540,000 after acquiring an additional 696,403 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 price objective (up from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $622.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. The trade was a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock traded up $3.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $614.96. The company had a trading volume of 170,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,275. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $584.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $537.45. The company has a market capitalization of $37.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.94. 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 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $633.23.

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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.76 EPS. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.83 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.41%.

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.