Savant Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC cut its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,963 shares and leaving it with 1,935 shares valued at about $1.205 million.
• Despite that reduction, institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutions holding 95.04% of the company’s stock. Several other investors recently increased their positions as well.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on MLM, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $689.81. The company also beat quarterly earnings estimates, reporting $1.93 EPS on $1.36 billion in revenue.

Savant Capital LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 78.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,935 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,963 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 321.8% during the third quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 3,817 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 84,820 shares of the construction company's stock worth $53,460,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth about $1,605,000. Pelham Capital Ltd. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 57.1% during the third quarter. Pelham Capital Ltd. now owns 30,052 shares of the construction company's stock worth $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 10,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.8% during the third quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 80,587 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,792,000 after buying an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $785.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $740.00 to $735.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $689.81.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of MLM stock opened at $570.80 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $525.38 and a fifty-two week high of $710.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $591.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $620.79.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.41 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 7.91%.

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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