Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. $MLM Shares Bought by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,897 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $4,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Schear Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 2,731 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 10.4% in the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.9% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.9% in the second quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 970 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% during the second quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 787 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 4.5%

Shares of NYSE:MLM opened at $667.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $622.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $608.73. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $667.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 2.07 and a current ratio of 2.97. The company has a market cap of $40.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.17 and a beta of 1.15.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The construction company reported $5.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.62 by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 17.34% and a return on equity of 11.68%. As a group, 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MLM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $620.00 to $610.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $637.00 to $681.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $705.00 to $723.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $660.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.67.

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.