Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its position in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 4.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,268 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,110 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $11,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MLM. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,515,441 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,353,936,000 after acquiring an additional 334,605 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 7,608.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 181,373 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $97,624,000 after acquiring an additional 179,020 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 54.2% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 467,782 shares of the construction company's stock worth $251,784,000 after acquiring an additional 164,503 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 247.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 148,827 shares of the construction company's stock worth $80,634,000 after purchasing an additional 106,002 shares during the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MLM shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $730.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $515.00 to $640.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $610.00 to $657.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BNP Paribas lowered Martin Marietta Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $655.77.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM traded down $2.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $557.29. 280,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 444,452. The stock has a market cap of $34.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1-year low of $478.53 and a 1-year high of $633.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $578.63 and a 200-day moving average of $555.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.34.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.41 by ($0.50). The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.47% and a return on equity of 12.53%. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

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.