SailingStone Capital Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

SailingStone Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 203.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,147 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,527 shares during the period. Martin Marietta Materials makes up about 2.6% of SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $13,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 67.9% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 47 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 370.0% in the second quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 47 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MLM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $737.00 to $690.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $664.00 to $639.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, August 24th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $625.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $667.53.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $503.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $548.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $581.36. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $502.36 and a twelve month high of $710.97.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.76 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 36.73% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This is an increase from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of construction aggregates and other building materials. The company produces crushed stone, sand and gravel used in infrastructure, commercial, residential and industrial construction projects.

Its products and services also include cement, ready-mixed concrete, asphalt and paving materials. Martin Marietta serves customers involved in roads, bridges, airports, buildings and other essential infrastructure, with operations concentrated across several regions of the United States.

The company was established in 1993 as an independent, publicly traded materials business formed from the construction materials operations of Martin Marietta Corporation.

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