Westbourne Investments Inc. Takes Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Westbourne Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,790 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $2,474,000. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for approximately 1.5% of Westbourne Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $2,975,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at about $197,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 89.3% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,310,000 after buying an additional 3,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,021 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,394,000 after buying an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MLM shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $559.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.38.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 3.9 %

NYSE:MLM opened at $524.76 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $31.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $483.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $531.02.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The construction company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

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.

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