Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 282 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd cut its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,258 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 282 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atika Capital Management LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Atika Capital Management LLC now owns 47,100 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $24,327,000 after acquiring an additional 16,600 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 6,000 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 110,943 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $57,375,000 after purchasing an additional 48,080 shares during the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth $312,000. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $2,590,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of 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 issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.50.

Insider Activity

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $470.33 on Friday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $500.39 and its 200 day moving average is $537.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Martin Marietta Materials 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.