Farringdon Capital Ltd. Invests $324,000 in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 628 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock worth $474,370,000 after acquiring an additional 916,743 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter worth approximately $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at $196,374,000. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock traded up $8.74 during trading on Thursday, hitting $507.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 87,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 545,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $531.76. The company has a market capitalization of $30.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52 week low of $441.95 and a 52 week high of $633.23.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Equities research analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business'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 value of $632,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction 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 $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.