Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $480,000 in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 930 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Tobam grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tobam now owns 93 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $653.08.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $516.67 on Monday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $482.01 and a 52 week high of $633.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $570.99 and its 200 day moving average is $552.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.85%.

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.