Merit Financial Group LLC Has $526,000 Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 36.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,100 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 292 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $559.00 to $609.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Stephens reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $561.00 to $576.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $610.69.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.0%

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $554.32 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $524.49 and a 200-day moving average of $523.44. The company has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $441.95 and a one year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 18.20%.

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.