Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,162 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,722 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $64,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 424 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in 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. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 702 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 731 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MLM shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $804.00 to $731.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Berenberg Bank set a $556.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $702.00 to $664.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $785.00 price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $681.94.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $578.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.10. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $525.38 and a 12 month high of $710.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $591.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $620.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 38.67% and a return on equity of 10.27%. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.41 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.91%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.