Guggenheim Capital LLC Has $985,000 Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 55.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,908 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 2,365 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $985,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MLM opened at $490.86 on Wednesday. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year 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 market cap of $29.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $484.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $531.99.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This trade represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $559.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $599.62.

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.

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