Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Purchased by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $3,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,174,183 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,705,466,000 after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $939,898,000 after buying an additional 191,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after acquiring an additional 148,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,472,411 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $758,499,000 after acquiring an additional 32,082 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 3.0 %

MLM opened at $470.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $500.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $537.18.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MLM. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.50.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.