Xponance Inc. Sells 23 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,586 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $4,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $939,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191,043 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after purchasing an additional 148,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MLM shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 target price for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James reduced their target price on 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. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $628.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

NYSE:MLM opened at $483.84 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $448.50 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $511.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $539.58.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

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.