Strs Ohio Takes Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made an $18.89 million investment in Martin Marietta Materials, acquiring 39,500 shares of the company during the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Martin Marietta Materials, which now has 95.04% institutional ownership.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.79 to $0.83 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 39,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $18,886,000. Strs Ohio owned 0.07% of Martin Marietta Materials as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Net Worth Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 993 shares of the construction company's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.9% during the first quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 452 shares of the construction company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 3.5% during the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 652 shares of the construction company's stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 448 shares of the construction company's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First American Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. First American Bank now owns 1,966 shares of the construction company's stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 2.4%

MLM stock traded up $14.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $624.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 110,775 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,550. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $597.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $545.46. The stock has a market cap of $37.64 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.88% and a net margin of 16.47%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Martin Marietta Materials has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 18.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Laree E. Perez sold 1,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.32, for a total value of $636,626.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,455,554.44. This represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $609.00 to $637.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $622.63.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

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.