T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 53.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,606,702 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 1,857,251 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 2.63% of Martin Marietta Materials worth $829,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 704,460 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Martin Marietta Materials during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,975,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Martin Marietta Materials in the 3rd quarter valued at about $197,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 89.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,008 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 3,778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted 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 in the last quarter. 95.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Martin Marietta Materials from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $640.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $599.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro purchased 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the acquisition, the senior vice president now owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,082,514.45. This represents a 6.52 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE MLM traded down $4.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $505.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 327,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 486,566. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.81. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $483.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $531.57.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The construction company reported $4.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.62 by $0.17. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. Research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

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.