Marshall Wace LLP Sells 103,678 Shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in shares of Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP - Free Report) by 62.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 63,507 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 103,678 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.19% of Eagle Materials worth $15,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Eagle Materials by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 205 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 154.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 237 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Eagle Materials in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 569 shares of the construction company's stock worth $140,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Eagle Materials by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.07% of the company's stock.

Eagle Materials Price Performance

Shares of EXP stock traded down $2.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $218.71. 233,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 331,960. Eagle Materials Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $201.61 and a fifty-two week high of $321.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $221.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.66. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.62 and a beta of 1.25.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The construction company reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.38). Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.91% and a return on equity of 34.14%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 14.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Eagle Materials's payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Michael R. Nicolais bought 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $257.36 per share, with a total value of $79,781.60. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $940,650.80. The trade was a 9.27 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EXP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Eagle Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $334.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Eagle Materials from $310.00 to $250.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Eagle Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $242.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Eagle Materials from $265.00 to $260.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.40.

Eagle Materials Profile

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel.