Handelsbanken Fonder AB Reduces Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,788 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,580 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $15,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 74.3% in the 4th quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group now owns 61 shares of the construction company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% during the 3rd quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sue W. Cole sold 1,724 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,757,099.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 directly owns 19,793 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,757,099.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total value of $9,063,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,357,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock traded down $2.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $591.82. 331,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 408,042. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $343.79 and a 52 week high of $626.67. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $590.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $514.16. 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 $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.96.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.62 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Monday, January 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $595.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $575.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $588.69.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.