Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 127,880 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,816 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.21% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $75,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optima Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MLM shares. Zacks Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. UBS Group set a $739.00 target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Sunday, May 10th. B. Riley Financial raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $682.41.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MLM traded up $6.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $578.00. 450,995 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 628,951. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $525.38 and a 1 year high of $710.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $581.94 and a 200 day moving average of $615.35. The stock has a market cap of $34.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 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 (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is 7.91%.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MLM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.