Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 11,103 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has reduced its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 10%, owning 99,840 shares worth approximately $47.7 million after selling 11,103 shares in the first quarter.
• Other institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have increased their stakes in Martin Marietta, with Vanguard raising its holding by 2.3% and JPMorgan by 10.1%.
• Martin Marietta reported a missed earnings estimate for the quarter, with EPS of $5.43 compared to the expected $5.44, alongside a revenue of $1.81 billion against a forecast of $1.88 billion.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 10.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 99,840 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 11,103 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.17% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $47,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $333,540,000 after purchasing an additional 696,403 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position 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 buying an additional 268,928 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 245,000 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 185,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MLM. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. 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 note on Tuesday. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $625.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $622.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock traded down $2.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $609.68. The company had a trading volume of 302,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 430,962. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $567.83 and a 200 day moving average of $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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.53%.

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.