Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 5,801 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 277,687 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,801 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.45% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $143,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 91.9% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 71 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

MLM stock opened at $477.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $507.03 and its 200-day moving average is $538.56. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $448.50 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MLM shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James cut their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $628.64.

Insider Transactions at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.