New England Research & Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

New England Research & Management Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 56.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,045 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MLM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 19.5% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 6.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,701,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the second quarter worth about $166,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $3,757,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MLM stock traded down $5.46 on Monday, hitting $518.65. The stock had a trading volume of 362,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,663. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $534.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $561.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $389.90 and a 1 year high of $626.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is 9.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $629.82.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.