Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Stock Holdings Decreased by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 80.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,396 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,623 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $196,374,000. Finally, Alkeon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 46.6% in the fourth quarter. Alkeon Capital Management LLC now owns 771,198 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $398,324,000 after purchasing an additional 245,000 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MLM shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $548.00 to $634.00 in a research report on Friday. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $610.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MLM stock traded up $11.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $564.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 419,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,736. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $499.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $528.22. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The business had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.20%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.