William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 7,153 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,153 shares and ending with 270,203 shares valued at about $168.2 million.
• Martin Marietta Materials reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.93 versus $1.78 expected and revenue of $1.36 billion versus $1.31 billion expected, while revenue rose 17.2% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $689.81.

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 270,203 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,153 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.45% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $168,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 84,820 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $53,460,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,605,000. Pelham Capital Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 57.1% during the third quarter. Pelham Capital Ltd. now owns 30,052 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $18,941,000 after acquiring an additional 10,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd increased 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 valued at $50,792,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.2%

MLM stock opened at $537.00 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $592.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $622.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $525.38 and a 1-year high of $710.97. The stock has a market cap of $32.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.13.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.15. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 10.27% and a net margin of 38.67%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $640.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. B. Riley Financial upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $700.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $710.00 to $730.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $608.00 to $614.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $689.81.

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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