Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Sells 2,906 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 52.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,611 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,906 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the construction company's stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 71.1% during the fourth quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 770 shares of the construction company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Investment Group LLC now owns 17,489 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $9,033,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 630 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 635 shares of the construction company's stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

MLM traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $548.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 293,651 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,094. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12 month low of $490.05 and a 12 month high of $633.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.91. 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $550.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $551.52.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) 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). The firm 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%. The company's revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.94 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.57 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 Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MLM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $640.00 to $630.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $648.71.

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.