Ascent Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 521.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,287 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,919 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 2,188 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,247 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $10,394,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 47.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 46,818 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $22,160,000 after acquiring an additional 15,162 shares during the period. Finally, Concentric Capital Strategies LP raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 492.1% in the 1st quarter. Concentric Capital Strategies LP now owns 34,712 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,597,000 after buying an additional 28,849 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $623.01 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $619.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $604.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $441.95 and a 12 month high of $665.18. The firm has a market cap of $37.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.84 and a beta of 1.15.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.62 by ($0.65). The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.34%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is presently 17.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $652.19.

About Martin Marietta Materials

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.