TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,054 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $58,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,710,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.4% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 147,963 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $90,840,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 8.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 74,259 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,545,000 after acquiring an additional 5,576 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 1st quarter valued at $41,142,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 35.3% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,843 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,359,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MLM. UBS Group began coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.85.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM opened at $619.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $549.06 and a 200-day moving average of $556.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $448.73 and a 1-year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.