Prudential PLC Acquires 870 Shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 113.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,634 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 870 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 25,242 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $13,037,000 after acquiring an additional 3,384 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 18.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,220 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 431.3% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 2,391 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the period. InTrack Investment Management Inc grew its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 3,446 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,784,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 158.2% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 43,952 shares of the construction company's stock worth $23,657,000 after purchasing an additional 26,929 shares during the period. 95.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MLM traded up $16.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $491.66. 627,089 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 489,557. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a twelve month low of $441.95 and a twelve month 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $533.75.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. The trade was a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MLM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reduced their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $675.00 to $650.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $657.00 to $622.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of 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 note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $559.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.43.

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.