Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5%, owning 41,322 shares valued at approximately $19.76 million.
• Numerous hedge funds have either added or reduced their stakes in Martin Marietta, with institutional investors now owning 95.04% of the company’s stock.
• Recent analyst reports have largely been positive, with upgrades from UBS and Stifel Nicolaus elevating price targets, suggesting a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating for the stock.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,322 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,071 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $19,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 193.9% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 97 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of MLM traded up $11.79 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $612.09. The stock had a trading volume of 526,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,897. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $561.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $528.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $441.95 and a 1-year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The construction company reported $5.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.44 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 16.47% and a return on equity of 11.88%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.76 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $700.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $576.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $577.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $615.60.

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.