Rathbones Group PLC Sells 3,875 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC sold 3,875 shares, trimming its Martin Marietta stake by 1.9% to 198,201 shares (about 0.33% ownership, valued at $123.4M).
• Martin Marietta missed Q4 expectations—EPS $4.62 vs. $4.81 expected and revenue $1.53B vs. $1.66B—although revenue was up 9.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts' consensus is a Hold with an average price target of $694.69; the stock trades near $597.49, has a PE of ~31.8, and pays a $0.83 quarterly dividend (0.6% yield).

Rathbones Group PLC decreased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 198,201 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,875 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned about 0.33% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $123,412,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $597.49 on Monday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $441.95 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 3.57. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $634.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $629.00.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $4.62 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.81 by ($0.19). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 17.38%.The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.66 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.79 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 17.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $631.00 to $612.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $706.00 to $702.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Loop Capital cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $690.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $694.69.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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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