Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Purchases 568 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 147,889 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $73,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MLM. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 144.4% during the third quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 66 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 84.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 72 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total value of $9,063,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 134,640 shares in the company, valued at $81,357,566.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Roselyn R. Bar sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $603.29, for a total transaction of $6,032,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,179,301.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO C Howard Nye sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $604.26, for a total transaction of $9,063,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 134,640 shares in the company, valued at $81,357,566.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,724 shares of company stock worth $16,033,760 over the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.5 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $592.46 on Thursday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $343.79 and a fifty-two week high of $626.67. The stock has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $583.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $507.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 3.35.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The construction company reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.67. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 21.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a $0.74 dividend. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 15.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $376.00 to $543.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $642.00 to $737.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $635.00 to $708.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Monday, January 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $595.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.69.

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.