Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 524,585 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,216 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.86% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $270,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MLM. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 782 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,336 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 3.6% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 570 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 447 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 483 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.3 %

MLM stock opened at $484.47 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $504.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $538.26. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $448.50 and a twelve month high of $633.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $29.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Martin Marietta Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $563.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. HSBC raised Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $626.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.