USS Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 24.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,605 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,390 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Waverly Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,041 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 7,005 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 64.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,028 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 796 shares during the period. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $547,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $610.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 2.7%

MLM traded down $15.19 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $552.30. The stock had a trading volume of 141,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,345. The stock's 50 day moving average is $511.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $526.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.