Norges Bank Takes Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 594,121 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,863,000. Norges Bank owned 0.97% of Martin Marietta Materials as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after purchasing an additional 506,705 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $196,374,000. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $808,005,000 after buying an additional 148,065 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MLM has been the topic of several research reports. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a “buy” 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. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $680.00 to $645.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $507.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $538.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $448.50 and a 1 year high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total value of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.