Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,391 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,353,936,000 after acquiring an additional 334,605 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 191,043 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $474,370,000 after acquiring an additional 916,743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 534,801 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $295,397,000 after acquiring an additional 9,908 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $559.00 target price for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $634.36.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $461.02 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $518.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $543.18. The stock has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $448.50 and a 52-week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the 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 owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.