First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Purchases 175 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,108 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 25,242 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $13,037,000 after purchasing an additional 3,384 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,914,000 after buying an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 431.3% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,391 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at $734,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2,448.1% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.4 %

Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $546.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $550.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $551.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $490.05 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.94 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MLM shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $640.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. BNP Paribas cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.