William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 22,727 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 438,202 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 22,727 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.72% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $226,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock worth $876,648,000 after acquiring an additional 704,460 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth $269,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 6.6% in the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 583 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 0.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,031 shares of the construction company's stock worth $19,394,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 1.1% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 1,963 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.04% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MLM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $670.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $559.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $628.64.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MLM traded down $6.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $477.49. The stock had a trading volume of 857,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 460,315. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $448.50 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $511.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $539.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.11% and a net margin of 30.54%. Sell-side analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.