4,215 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Purchased by S Bank Fund Management Ltd

Key Points

• S Bank Fund Management Ltd has acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, purchasing 4,215 shares valued at approximately $2,015,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., have also increased their holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, demonstrating strong institutional interest.
• Despite a slight earnings miss in the latest quarter, analysts remain optimistic, with price targets for the stock raised by firms like Morgan Stanley and DA Davidson.

S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,215 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,015,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,407,947,000 after purchasing an additional 268,928 shares during the last quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $398,324,000 after purchasing an additional 245,000 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $315,261,000 after purchasing an additional 185,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $525.00 target price (up previously from $515.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson increased 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. Bank of America increased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $700.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM traded down $6.90 during trading on Thursday, reaching $613.18. The stock had a trading volume of 365,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,141. The stock has a market cap of $36.98 billion, a PE ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.35. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $633.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $566.66 and a 200-day moving average of $530.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.