Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 278 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,319 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 278 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $7,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company’s stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM stock opened at $544.78 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $579.74 and its 200 day moving average is $555.47. 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 stock has a market cap of $33.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $479.67 and a twelve month high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.94 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Martin Marietta Materials’s payout ratio is 9.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MLM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $690.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $653.08.

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.