Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Sold by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 51.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,875 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 23,925 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $11,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MLM. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% during the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 72 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $505.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $600.00 price target (up previously from $530.00) on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $510.00 to $598.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $577.38.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE MLM traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $621.89. The company had a trading volume of 438,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,000. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $335.10 and a 52 week high of $626.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $573.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 17.25%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.74 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 15.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 19,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $543.48, for a total value of $936,959.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,793 shares in the company, valued at $10,757,099.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock valued at $16,033,760 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

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.