Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Has $6.91 Million Stock Position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 6.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,383 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $6,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $1,783,000. RD Lewis Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,799,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 438,202 shares of the construction company's stock worth $226,331,000 after buying an additional 22,727 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 835 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the construction company's stock worth $661,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Martin Marietta Materials stock traded down $2.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $488.13. 162,646 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 460,834. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $448.50 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day moving average of $510.82 and a 200 day moving average of $539.41. The company has a market capitalization of $29.76 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MLM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $563.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $630.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials 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.