Congress Asset Management Co. Has $136.27 Million Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 253,178 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $136,273,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 186.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 63 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MLM. Stephens lowered their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $610.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $560.00 to $515.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $658.00 to $646.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $621.50.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM traded down $6.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $598.41. 98,193 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,956. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $539.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $556.12. The company has a market cap of $36.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.91. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $404.93 and a twelve month high of $626.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The business had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 13.85% and a net margin of 30.80%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Martin Marietta Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.60%.

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.