Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC Raises Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,572 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,263 shares during the quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC owned 0.11% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $34,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $932,000. Burling Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $952,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 91.6% in the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 960 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 134,988 shares of the construction company's stock worth $69,778,000 after buying an additional 26,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 1,890 shares of the construction company's stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MLM. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $600.00 to $597.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $599.38.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 0.1 %

MLM traded up $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $503.43. 491,627 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 486,359. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $441.95 and a 12-month high of $633.23. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $483.08 and a 200 day moving average of $531.26.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Martin Marietta Materials

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.