Blue Trust Inc. Decreases Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Blue Trust Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 73.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 473 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 101 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $489.94 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $482.72 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The firm has a market cap of $29.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $530.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $547.08.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $639.43.

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.