124,262 Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Acquired by Freestone Grove Partners LP

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 124,262 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,662,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.21% of Martin Marietta Materials at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 424 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 67 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 495 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,186 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $532.74 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $565.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $592.76. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $522.19 and a twelve month high of $710.97. The company has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The construction company reported $5.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.76 by $0.24. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 36.73%.The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This is a positive change from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is currently 8.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on MLM. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $615.00 to $610.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $616.00 to $581.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $700.00 to $680.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $665.29.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc (NYSE: MLM) is a leading producer of aggregates and heavy building materials serving the construction and infrastructure markets. The company operates quarries, sand and gravel pits, and other extraction sites to supply crushed stone, sand and gravel, and a range of value‑added products for use in roads, bridges, commercial and residential construction, and other civil engineering projects.

In addition to its core aggregates business, Martin Marietta manufactures and sells asphalt, ready‑mixed concrete and related materials and services.