Sagefield Capital LP Purchases 7,941 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Sagefield Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 63.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,389 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 7,941 shares during the quarter. Martin Marietta Materials makes up about 1.2% of Sagefield Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sagefield Capital LP's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $10,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $548.00 to $634.00 in a report on Friday, May 16th. Stephens lowered 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $610.69.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MLM traded up $2.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $562.79. 174,998 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 484,782. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $505.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $528.16. The stock has a market cap of $33.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.