5,708 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Acquired by Sciencast Management LP

Sciencast Management LP purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,708 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,948,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 850 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 6,177 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,190,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 197,762 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $102,144,000 after buying an additional 4,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $415,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock opened at $477.49 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $448.50 and a 52 week high of $633.23. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $511.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $539.18. The company has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

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, 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MLM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stephens decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $628.64.

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.