Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM) Shares Sold by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,252 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 7,577 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC owned approximately 0.34% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $106,013,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $474,370,000 after acquiring an additional 916,743 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $876,648,000 after purchasing an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the 4th quarter valued at $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the fourth quarter valued at $196,374,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

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Martin Marietta Materials Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:MLM traded up $16.39 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $491.66. The company had a trading volume of 627,089 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,559. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 1 year low of $441.95 and a 1 year high of $633.23. The company has a market cap of $29.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average of $490.42 and a 200 day moving average of $533.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MLM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Seaport Res Ptn raised Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Martin Marietta Materials in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $559.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $563.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $609.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Michael J. Petro bought 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $454.37 per share, with a total value of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 3,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This 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.