King Luther Capital Management Corp Lowers Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 719,888 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,576 shares during the period. Martin Marietta Materials accounts for about 1.8% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 1.17% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $390,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the first quarter worth $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 1st quarter worth $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM opened at $548.56 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $389.90 and a 12-month high of $626.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $33.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $541.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $567.60.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The construction company reported $4.76 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.36 by ($0.60). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 30.80%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.60 EPS. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MLM. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $670.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $629.82.

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.