Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Trims Stake in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 11.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,416 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $13,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 411.1% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its stake in Martin Marietta Materials by 1,300.0% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 56 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. First Personal Financial Services bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Martin Marietta Materials during the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MLM shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $650.00 to $635.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Martin Marietta Materials from $595.00 to $645.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Martin Marietta Materials in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a $730.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Martin Marietta Materials has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $655.77.

Martin Marietta Materials Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MLM traded down $2.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $557.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 280,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 444,452. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $578.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $555.97. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 12-month low of $478.53 and a 12-month high of $633.23. The firm has a market cap of $34.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.89.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The construction company reported $5.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.41 by ($0.50). Martin Marietta Materials had a return on equity of 12.53% and a net margin of 30.47%. The business had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.94 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 17.58 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Martin Marietta Materials's payout ratio is currently 9.85%.

About Martin Marietta Materials

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.