Allstate Corp Acquires New Shares in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,815 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $937,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $626.50.

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Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MLM traded down $14.64 on Friday, reaching $470.33. 889,629 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 483,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.68 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average is $500.39 and its 200-day moving average is $537.18. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $448.50 and a fifty-two week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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.