Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,624 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,991 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $17,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $476.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $451.09 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $520.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $543.69.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MLM shares. Stephens decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $634.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.