Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Makes New $16.83 Million Investment in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 32,592 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,833,000. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. owned about 0.05% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 1,123 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $464.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $448.50 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $515.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $541.53. The company has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted 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 return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. Analysts predict 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, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.