Ballentine Partners LLC Acquires 27 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,281 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the second 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 during the period. Asset Dedication LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $549.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $33.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.91. 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’s fifty day moving average is $553.40 and its 200 day moving average is $551.28. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $490.05 and a one year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $640.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $730.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $648.71.

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.