National Bank of Canada FI Sells 15,325 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

National Bank of Canada FI cut its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,627 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 15,325 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $14,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $196,374,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the acquisition, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, 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. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $470.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $500.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $537.16. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $448.50 and a twelve month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued 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 price target of $626.50.

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.