Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Purchased by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 51.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,605 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $2,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,975,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $197,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 89.3% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,021 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $5,394,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a "buy" rating and a $559.00 price target for the company. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $491.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $599.62.

Martin Marietta Materials Stock Performance

NYSE MLM opened at $490.86 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $484.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $531.99. The company has a market capitalization of $29.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. 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.

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

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Martin Marietta Materials news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. The trade was a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the purchase, 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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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