Magnetar Financial LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,440 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,615 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MLM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after acquiring an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after purchasing an additional 334,605 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,819,744 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $939,898,000 after purchasing an additional 191,043 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,562,146 shares of the construction company's stock worth $808,005,000 after buying an additional 148,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $474,370,000 after buying an additional 916,743 shares in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

MLM traded down $2.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $488.31. The company had a trading volume of 361,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,956. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $510.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $539.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $448.50 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The stock has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.77%.

Insider Activity at Martin Marietta Materials

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MLM shares. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HSBC upgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $690.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. BNP Paribas downgraded Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $559.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $628.64.

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.