Benjamin Edwards Inc. Grows Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2,448.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,376 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,322 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MLM. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 11,747 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $6,365,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 17.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 431 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,278 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,943,000 after buying an additional 1,549 shares during the period. Buckingham Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 2nd quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 25.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 596 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $581.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $575.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $556.15. The company has a market cap of $35.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $458.58 and a 52 week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. Martin Marietta Materials’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $730.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $515.00 to $640.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $644.46.

Martin Marietta Materials Company 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.